Arsenal beat Man City on penalties to win the Community Shield

Arsenal lifted the Community Shield after beating Manchester City 4-1 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw at Wembley.

Action: The Gunners struggled in the first 15 minutes of the game, finding it difficult to advance past midfield and failing to connect passes effectively.

However, Manchester City didn't exhibit a sense of urgency either with their only noteworthy opportunity was a deflected shot by Rodri that narrowly missed the target in the 14th minute.

Despite City having more possession in the first half, the north London side had better scoring chances. Summer signing Kai Havertz missed two chances to score his debut goal, as Stefan Ortega saved his shots.

City's first shot on goal came only in the second half in the 52nd minute when John Stones headed a corner straight into Aaron Ramsdale's hands.

Both teams struggled to create clear-cut chances, but the Cityzens managed to take the lead in the 77th minute, somewhat unexpectedly. 

Substitute Cole Palmer broke the deadlock with a skillful curling shot from outside the box that beat Ramsdale.

Phil Foden nearly doubled City's lead shortly after, with Ramsdale's legs deflecting his close-range attempt wide and from the resulting the English goalkeeper made an impressive save to deny Rodri's header.

As the game was going towards the end of stoppage time, Leandro Trossard's speculative shot deflected off Manuel Akanji, levelling the game and forcing the match into a penalty shootout.

In the penalty shootout, Kevin De Bruyne struck the crossbar, while Ramsdale saved Rodri's attempt, bringing Arsenal close to victory.

Martin Odegaard, Trossard, and Bukayo Saka successfully converted their penalties and Fabio Vieira confidently placed his penalty in the top corner, sparking wild celebrations in Arsenal's end.

Big Picture: City's streak of losses in Community Shield matches continued with this result, as they had previously been defeated by Liverpool last season and by Leicester City in 2021.

While, this victory marked Arsenal's 17th win in the  Community Shield.

Looking ahead, Manchester City will commence their defense of the Premier League title by facing Burnley, under the management of former captain Vincent Kompany, on Friday evening.

On the other hand, Arsenal host Nottingham Forest for a lunchtime kickoff on Saturday.

xG: Arsenal (0.98) 1-1 (0.95) Manchester City