Arsenal produced a late turnaround to equalise at the death and then beat Manchester City on penalties in the 2023 Community Shield on Sunday afternoon.
Substitute Cole Palmer produced a wonderful second-half strike to put City ahead, but the Gunners sent the game to spot-kicks in the 101st minute when Leandro Trossard’s deflected effort lurched past Stefan Ortega.
Misses from Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri allowed Arsenal to win 4-1 from the spot and claim the first piece of domestic silverware this season.
Mikel Arteta named all three summer signings – Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber – in his starting XI for their official Arsenal debuts, while Mateo Kovacic made his bow for Man City with Julian Alverez preferred to Phil Foden and De Bruyne only fit enough for the bench.
A slow start saw Alvarez flick Manuel Akanji’s cross wide of goal before Rodri had a shot deflect off Rice and go out for a corner.
Thomas Partey was booked early on and Arteta started waving imaginary cards at referee Stuart Attwell when Rodri brought down Havertz, only to be cautioned himself for the outburst.
Erling Haaland had a quiet first half, with Havertz instead the striker being served with chances at the other end. The Germany international couldn’t match the Norwegian’s normal precision in front of goal, however, twice seeing efforts on goal beaten away by Stefan Ortega.
Rodri, who had evidently watched Andre Onana get lobbed in Manchester United’s friendly victory over Lens on Saturday, went for an audacious strike from the centre circle which Aaron Ramsdale nervously watched onto the roof of the net while backtracking.
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Arsenal enjoyed the better chances but couldn’t take the lead as the two sides headed into half-time goalless.
City had the first meaningful opportunity of the second half, with Alvarez’s corner finding the forehead of Stones. Ramsdale parried the ball to safety before an injury gave Pep Guardiola and Arteta the opportunity for mini-team meetings.
Guardiola then made strong changes around the hour mark, bringing on Foden, De Bruyne and Palmer, and it was the latter who put the Cityzens ahead with all three involved in the move.
Foden ran away from Partey and his path bounced into De Bruyne’s path. The Belgian headed it to Palmer, who was given too much space by a tumbling Kieran Kierney and curled excellently into the top corner.
Foden went close soon after, picking up Alvarez’s pass but having his shot deflect off Ramsdale and trickle wide.
Arsenal kept pushing until late on and were eventually rewarded when Trossard’s heavily deflected effort shot past Ortega in the 101st minute to take the game to penalties.
Martin Odegaard, Trossard, Bukayo Saka and Fabio Vieira all netted to help Arsenal to their first win over City since 2020 when they were victorious in the FA Cup semi finals.
GK: Stefan Ortega – 7/10 – Important saves from Havertz when the game was goalless.
RB: Kyle Walker – 6/10 – Some long passes were unnecessarily errant but his pace largely shut down the right hand side.
CB: John Stones – 7/10 – Back in defence which ruled out any excessive pirouetting. Almost netted with a powerful header.
CB: Ruben Dias – 7/10 – Gave away a few passes but was largely commanding and led City’s back line.
LB: Manuel Akanji – 6/10 – Some nice crosses in attack.
CM: Rodri – 6/10 – Probably should have been booked somewhere throughout the contest. Showed his now known attacking penchant by going close in the first half.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 6/10 – Looked to burst forward in possession wherever possible, adding another body in attack.
RW: Bernardo Silva – 6/10 – Not at his magical best but industrious as ever without being too creative in the final third.
AM: Julian Alvarez – 6/10 – Created three chances on Sunday afternoon, though City starting poking holes in Arsenal’s defence once he was replaced by De Bruyne.
LW: Jack Grealish – 5/10 – The first City player hooked just before the hour, having contributed little to proceedings.
ST: Erling Haaland – 5/10 – Pretty subdued, not having a single shot in the opening hour. Now gone six City games without a goal.
Substitutes
Phil Foden (58′ for Grealish) – 8/10 – Key role in City’s opener, waltzing away from Partey before playing the ball out wide.
Kevin De Bruyne (64′ for Kovacic) – 7/10 – Registered his first assist of the season by nodding into Palmer’s path. Game opened up upon his arrival.
Cole Palmer (64 for Haaland) – 8/10 – Put City ahead not long after coming on, beautifully picking out the far corner.
Subs not used: Kalvin Phillips, Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Ederson, Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis, James McAtee.
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 6/10 – His substitutions came at a vital time and looked to have got City the win. They couldn’t hold out, however.
GK: Aaron Ramsdale – 6/10 – Looked to go long early on but was nervy in possession. Good save from Stones in the second half.
RB: Ben White – 7/10 – Brilliant stop denied Alvarez putting City ahead and got forward well down the right.
CB: William Saliba – 7/10 – Shut down Haaland excellently on one occasion. Cool, calm and collected throughout.
CB: Gabriel Magalhaes – 7/10 – Sometimes a little reckless and picked up a booking but constantly made clearances at the back for Arsenal.
LB: Jurrien Timber – 7/10 – Got little space to work with as a right-footed left-back. Had few issues while defending.
CM: Declan Rice – 6/10 – Got better in the second half, picking up loose ball more regularly to get Arsenal on the front foot.
CM: Thomas Partey – 6/10 – Pretty harsh booking early on. Recovered well but was mugged off by Foden before Palmer’s winner by pressing too high.
CM: Martin Odegaard – 6/10 – Couple of nice half-turns here and there but didn’t dominate like he can.
RW: Bukayo Saka – 6/10 – Caused some problems early on and looked like Arsenal’s brightest spark at points, but died off towards full time.
ST: Kai Havertz – 5/10 – Two great chances to net in the first half but again let down by anxious finishing, even with some decent link-up play in the build-up.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – 5/10 – Wasn’t afforded space in behind to run into and delivery from set pieces was off.
Substitutes
Kieran Tierney (76′ for Timber) – 5/10 – Appeared to lose his footing and couldn’t close down Palmer before he scored.
Leandro Trossard (75′ for Martinelli) – 7/10 – Managed to create the chance that drew Arsenal level, even if the way it crept in was fortuitous to say the least.
Eddie Nketiah (81′ for Rice) – 6/10 – Sent on late on as Arsenal chased an equaliser.
Emile Smith Rowe (87′ for Gabriel) – N/A
Fabio Vieira (87′ for Havertz) – N/A
Subs not used: Jakub Kiwior, Rob Holding, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner.
Manager
Mikel Arteta – 5/10 – Booked for getting too excited and asking for yellow cards. His side couldn’t capitalise when on top and City’s greater depth ultimately proved the difference.
Player of the match – Cole Palmer (Manchester City)
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