SPORTS: Arsenal beat Manchester City in penalty shoot-out to win Community Shield.

 

Arsenal secured the Community Shield after they beat Premier League and FA Cup holders Manchester City 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

City took the lead through Cole Palmer in the 77th minute after the forward cut inside from the right and curled a superb effort past Aaron Ramsdale and inside the far post. Arsenal, however, grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser through Leandro Trossard, whose shot was deflected past Ortega by Manuel Akanji to send the game to penalties.

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne crashed his spot-kick against the crossbar and Ramsdale saved from Rodri before Fabio Vieira converted the winning penalty, Arsenal taking the shoot-out to claim the first piece of silverware of the season.

It was the 17th time Arsenal have won this trophy and there will be plenty of encouraging omens for them to take from their performance. Debutants Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber impressed. Fellow new signing Kai Havertz had a more mixed time, and should have scored with a great chance in the first half.

City manager Pep Guardiola will have noted that star striker Erling Haaland was quiet again, having ended last season with one goal in eight games in all competitions.

One positive for City, however, was the sight of De Bruyne coming on for the final half hour for his first minutes since the Champions League final in June, when he came off with a hamstring injury, albeit that he was uncharacteristically inaccurate from the spot.

The match also provided an early sign of what to expect from match officials in the coming season, with players and coaches having agreed to a so-called “Participant Charter” that means they will face stricter sanctions for bad behavior in matches.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was shown a yellow card in the first half for waving an imaginary yellow card after Rodri made a tactical foul to prevent a breakaway. Either side of that, two players — Arsenal’s Thomas Partey and City’s Julian Alvarez — were booked for kicking the ball away.