Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City (4-1p) – 3 talking points from Community Shield win

Arsenal claimed their first piece of silverware of the campaign, defeating Manchester City 4-1 on penalties to hoist the Community Shield aloft at Wembley.

It might mean nothing, but it also might mean everything as Arsenal kicked off the season with a come-from-behind win over Manchester City.

After Pep Guardiola’s side ran the show for the opening half hour, the Gunners grew into the contest.

City opened the scoring through Cole Palmer as he curled in a delicious ball to give his team the lead with 15 minutes remaining. But as Arsenal have shown throughout Mikel Arteta’s tenure, they never quit, and a deflected Leandro Trossard goal brought them level.

The Gunners then were perfect from the spot as they nailed all four of their penalty kicks to win the Community Shield for the 17th time.

3 talking points from Arsenal’s Community Shield win

The game provided plenty of talking points; here they are.

1. William Saliba again proves his worth

Personally speaking, had Saliba been fit for the title run-in last season, Arsenal would have won the league. There will be detractors to that, but I suggest you watch his masterclass against Erling Haaland.

The Frenchman was a colossus in the heart of the defence, and while, yes, it is pre-season, it is far better to have a performance like this than for Haaland to have run wild.

Forming a superb partnership with Gabriel, Saliba is quickly becoming the leader of the defence, and keeping one of the best strikers on the planet on the outer is a feather in his cap.

Arsenal won’t win any league points for his efforts, but it gives Saliba confidence when he again meets with Haaland in the league.

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