🏆 Arsenal beat Man City on penalties to win the Community Shield | OneFootball

Arsenal beat Manchester City 4-1 on penalties to win the Community Shield at Wembley after a 1-1 draw in normal time as the 2023/24 season got underway.

Cole Palmer had given City the lead with a stunning curler before Leandro Trossard provided a dramatic 101st-minute equaliser to take the game to a shootout.

Scorers: Palmer 77′; Trossard 90+11′.

The annual curtain-raiser for the English season always has the element of excitement around seeing the new faces on display with all three of Arsenal’s new signings in Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber starting while Mateo Kovačić started for City.

Havertz was the story of the first half with the German international missing two golden opportunities to break the deadlock, with Stefan Ortega on hand to deny two close-range efforts with extraordinary reaction saves.

City struggled to create opportunities in the first half with only a Rodri drive from 25 yards out deflecting just wide their only real notable attempt at goal.

But last season’s treble winners had the first chance of the second period but Aaron Ramsdale was equal to John Stones’ header from a City corner.

Bukayo Saka failed to make contact with another inviting White cross as Mikel Arteta’s men pressed for an opener but in a game with a lack of clear-cut chances it took a moment of inspiration to open the scoring.

City substitute Cole Palmer saw the ball ricochet into his path just outside of the box before he drove into the area and bent an audacious left-footed curler into the top corner leaving Ramsdale with no chance.

There were 13 minutes of added time at the end of the second half due to a combination of the new ‘time-keeping’ rules put in force by referees for the upcoming season and a collision between Kyle Walker and Thomas Partey.

Both players turned out to be ok but it did leave enough time for Arsenal to find their equaliser, and this time it was down to one of their substitutes.

Leandro Trossard made room for a shot at the edge of the box and his left-footed attempt wrong-footed Ortega and landed in the back of the net courtesy of a huge deflection.

To penalties it went with Kevin De Bruyne hit the crossbar before Rodri saw his penalty saved by Ramsdale allowing Fabio Vieira the chance to win it for the Gunners.

Pep Guardiola’s men kick off their Premier League campaign away to Vincent Kompany’s Burnley next Friday with Arsenal facing Nottingham Forest the next day.