3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s Community Shield win over Man City

Positive #3: Havertz in the No. 9 role

The German showed his new fans exactly what he can bring to the table. While showing flashes thus far during preseason, Havertz brought it all together against City.

Operating as a false nine, his physicality, ability to play with his back to goal, and hold-up play were first-class.

He provided the Gunners with a focal point at all times, and while he drifted out of the game in the second half, his efforts in the first showed why Arteta signed him.

Negative #3: Bad omen for the title race?

Arsenal’s victory over Pep Guardiola’s City, a side they’re yet to beat with Arteta at the helm, may prove psychologically significant if the Gunners once engage the Cityzens in the title race. However, recent Community Shield victors haven’t gone on to do too well in the Premier League season that follows.

Just one of the last 12 Shield winners have gone on to win the title (City in 2018/19) and the last two winners have gone on to finish eighth and fifth in the League.

However, Arteta’s Gunners are better than the Leicester and Liverpool outfits that struggled after their pre-season triumphs at Wembley and I’m sure absolutely nobody at the club is concerned with this potential bad omen.

This wasn’t about winning a minor piece of silverware, but defeating a side they’d never beaten before – even if it was on penalties. Mentally, Sunday’s performance and result could prove significant for the upcoming campaign and beyond.