How Arsenal got the edge over Man City in the Community Shield penalty shootout | OneFootball

Highlights

Arsenal came from behind to beat Premier League rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield this weekend. Many have called the result a fluke, due to the Gunners equalising and forcing a penalty shootout in the dying moments of the contest.

And while that may be true, the shootout itself was far from a fluke, with a recent thread revealing some clever tactics that Mikel Arteta's side deployed to emerge victorious.

Sure, largely, penalty shootouts do come down to luck, and on any given day, any side can beat anyone, but the tactics that Arsenal used to gain an edge over City actually worked a treat and may have been responsible for the side coming out on top.

It's not even something that many people would have necessarily noticed, but one fan did, posting a thread about the Gunners' mind games throughout the shootout and how it helped them win the Community Shield.

What did Arsenal do to gain an edge over City?

Again, while penalty shootouts can often come down to luck, there are ways to give yourself a better chance at scoring, and one of those is keeping composed and not letting the moment get to you, which Arsenal ensured they did throughout.

As pointed out by Twitter user @afcjxmes, the Gunners were methodical with their penalties, and every single player took their time before taking their spot kick.

Once the referee blew his whistle, all four of the Arsenal players taking a penalty waited over six seconds, gaining their composure, allowing themselves to relax and completely process the moment before they actually took their spot kick.

It worked a treat as well, with all four players finding the back of the net. The fact that all of Arsenal's players employed the same method of patience and refused to rush into taking their penalty suggests that it was a team-wide tactic that had been discussed within the club beforehand.

Obviously, taking your time before a penalty does not and will not always result in success. There are plenty of examples of players who have missed a spot-kick after doing so, but allowing yourself to gain composure by relaxing and assessing the situation will always give a player a better chance than immediately rushing into it might.

What did City do in comparison?

The stark contrast between how Arsenal approached the shootout compared to City is pretty much night and day. While the Gunners were patient and composed before their attempts, every single one of Pep Guardiola's takers rushed into their spot-kicks, and it led to some pretty disastrous results.

Even the most composed of players, like Kevin De Bruyne, rushed their penalties, and it resulted in two of the club's three attempts being missed. You only have to look at the average time it took for City's players to take their penalties after the referee's whistle to see how rushed they all were, with no one taking longer than a second.

The issue with rushing a penalty is it doesn't allow a player to compose themselves and hints at the nerves that may be getting the best of them at that time. According to @afcjxmes, research has shown that the shorter the time between the referee's whistle and the player's penalty, the more likely they are to miss said penalty.

It seems safe to assume that this is something Arteta and his coaching staff may have picked up on and instilled into the Arsenal squad ahead of the Community Shield.

The Twitter user also shared footage of one of just two penalties that Ivan Toney has missed throughout his career, with the Brentford striker known as one of the best in the business from the spot. And wouldn't you know it, he rushes into the attempt, wasting very little time after the referee's whistle.

It's an interesting detail that has surprisingly not been highlighted very often in the past, but don't be surprised if teams prepare differently for shootouts going forward. The need for patience and composure will be emphasised strongly by many sides in response to Arsenal's success.

On the surface, there seem to be very few ways to properly prepare for a penalty shootout, but with Arsenal's measured approach to it being perfectly highlighted online after this weekend's game, more teams may approach the nailbiting process a little more intelligently from now on.

How did Arsenal get on against City in the shootout?

Having gone unbeaten against Arsenal for over three years, you'd have been forgiven for assuming City had the upper hand against the Gunners heading into the weekend's penalty shootout, especially from a mindset point of view, but Arteta's side were not there to be beaten.

Having forced the shootout after equalising through a deflected Leandro Trossard shot in the 100th minute of the contest, after Cole Palmer opened the scoring for City, momentum was on Arsenal's side, and they refused to let the occasion get to them.

With their composed, patient and measured approach to the shootout, the Gunners scored all four of their penalties, with Martin Odegaard, Trossard, Bukayo Saka and Fabio Vieira all converting from the spot, while De Bruyne and Rodri both missed for City.

It's not often you'll see a side and their manager best Guardiola in the tactical manner in which Arsenal and Arteta did this weekend, but considering his reputation as one of football's greatest-ever tacticians, you can be sure to expect the Spaniard to respond well in the future.

The result likely won't affect City's long-term success this season, though, with the club now losing the last three Community Shields in a row. And it's safe to say that hasn't prevented them from picking up a plethora of silverware, including last season's historic treble.

Interestingly, though, the last three Community Shield winners before Arsenal failed to win any silverware beyond the trophy in the year following their success, so Arteta and his side will be hoping to break that short tradition this season and finally get their hands on the Premier League title.