5 standout players in Arsenal’s Community Shield victory

Arsenal’s flawless penalty shootout performance led them to victory against Manchester City in the Community Shield.

After a lovely Cole Palmer strikes put the Cityzens ahead, Leandro Trossard scored an incredibly late equaliser (90+9) and the whistle was blown shortly afterwards. Arsenal have started the season with silverware!

The victory meant a lot to the Arsenal players and staff who were jubilant after Fabio Vieira rifled his winning penalty into the top corner. In particular, watch Arteta after Trossard’s shot was deflected in. The passion and determination that the team showed can only be a positive sign for the upcoming season.

City also took the game very seriously and had similar raucous celebrations after the Palmer goal. The result doesn’t impact the upcoming season much but it will be a massive mental boost for Arteta and his players to have beaten Manchester City, whatever the context.

The Gunners were very solid throughout the game. The first 20 minutes were all City but Arsenal grew into the game well and a draw was probably a fair result all things considered. It’s very impressive how far Arsenal have come in just a couple of years: the team now looks equal to City.

5 standout players in Arsenal’s Community Shield victory

There weren’t any poor performers in the Arsenal team and it was fairly difficult to pick standout players because of how solid each player was. Nevertheless,

1. Martin Odegaard

On the ball, off the ball, as a leader, and with the fans, Martin Odegaard was special today. No player on the pitch seemed to want to win more than him and he continues to impress me.

He is such a crucial element to our press and whenever he is triggered into the press, the players often seem to win the ball. He worked incredibly hard and led the team by example, getting the fans to vocalise their support too.

It was an Odegaard press that turned the tide of the first half in the favour of Arsenal. He was also very calm with the ball, found some killer passes and generally did what I have come to expect of him.

One of his highlights was turning Mateo Kovacic inside out in the second half.

The Norwegian was a little hot and cold in preseason but the performance against Manchester City has me incredibly reassured for the upcoming season. A team needs its captain and Martin Odegaard is comfortably one of the best captains in the league.

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