On Sunday, Arsenal lifted the Community Shield for the 18th time, but this felt like more than simply a friendly win over our current title rivals Manchester City.
Inside only the first minute, Riccardo Calafiori handed the men in red and white the lead, tucking his effort away from close range following a sweet through ball from Myles Lewis-Skelly (1-0).
Not long before the half-hour mark, Kai Havertz flew in with a pulsating header, firmly putting the game in Arsenal’s hands for good (2-0).
As if Arsenal weren’t walking in dreamland already, captain Martin Odegaard finished off the scoring for the afternoon when he slotted away what was described by the TNT Sports commentator as a “sensational” effort, after dummying Gianluigi Donnarumma in the City goal before finding the back of the net.
It was as clear as daylight that Arsenal had won the Community Shield for good, in a total eclipse of their 2014 performance in the competition against the Citizens, who they beat by the same scoreline, just at a different venue (Wembley), under then-manager Arsene Wenger.
Why did this feel like more than a friendly?
If it was only a friendly, why did it feel like more than a win on paper?
Both teams fielded their strongest sides for starters, with Manchester City choosing to play Erling Haaland up front, who has devastated every team he’s come up against in the Premiership as the most dominant forward since signing for the men in blue and white in 2022 for £85.5 million.
He holds the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season (36), which no player has come close to since!
However, yesterday he was far from being in prime form and missed a sitter from inside the box with ten minutes to go before the break, and struggled to show further improvements in attack for the rest of the 90 minutes.
Manchester City didn’t look dreadful, despite looking clumsy for the first goal with a slip-up at the back, rather reminiscent of some of Arsenal’s woes last season despite eventually winning our first title in 22 years.
(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Arsenal looked more clinical and confident
The Gunners, for some reason, looked more confident than last season yesterday and came across as being more clinical and refined in the final third.
In my biased Arsenal opinion, they looked like the best team in the world, in spite of their Champions League final defeat to PSG in May.
At the back, the Gunners also looked tighter and again David Raya was on fire when called into action on a few rare occasions. Had he not risen to the moment, the scoreline could’ve looked slightly different.
Overall, Arsenal looked convincing to watch and, although we were in the Premier League driving seat last season, we did look slightly vulnerable in the latter half of the season.
That was especially the case when we lost back-to-back matches to Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth by the same scoreline (1-2), which nearly scuppered our chances of lifting a first title in a generation.
It was also great to see Arsenal, in my lifetime, win the Community Shield for a sixth time in just over a decade. However, the excitement certainly wasn’t as much as when we won the title.
If Arsenal play like they did yesterday, there’s no doubt about it that a second consecutive title will be delivered to the Emirates next season.
To Arsenal and the Gooner fanbase for next season, COYG!
Liam Harding
Do you agree with Liam that this Community Shield victory felt like more than just a friendly? And did Arsenal’s performance against City make you even more confident about retaining the Premier League title? Let us know in the comments.
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