Arsenal 1-1 Man City (4-1 pens) – Community Shield LIVE: Gunners win Shield on penalties as Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri miss from the spot following late Leandro Trossard equaliser
Follow Mail Sport’s live blog as Arsenal and Man City go head-to-head as they battle for the Community Shield.
Host commentator
The Gunners take to the pitch now to spray champagne.
The club songs are playing out.
First blood Arsenal in what could be another thrilling season.
Arteta is all smiles as he makes his way up the 107 steps. The players are buzzing.
Three Community Shields now for Arteta. How he’d love to add a Premier League title.
Your Community Shield winners – Arsenal!
Boos for the City players as they collect their medal.
Frustrating for them, but not the end of the world. They’re still in pre-season. The real stuff starts at Turf Moor on Friday.
Work to do, a shame, but they’ll move on.
Declan Rice is doing post-match and he’s just said this is why he joined the club.
Aaron Ramsdale, meanwhile, says the game shows they can beat Manchester City.
‘We’re ready to go,’ the goalkeeper said.
After last year’s pain, that will be some relief for Arsenal.
City will be frustrated. A chance to get on the board early goes amiss.
The trophy presentation is on the way.
An absolutely fantastic penalty from Vieira and Arsenal have done it!
De Bruyne and Rodri miss for City in the shootout. Arsenal perfect. Jubilant celebrations.
From the brink of defeat to taking home the Shield!
Vieira. Score to win.
HIGH INTO THE NET!
GOAL! ARSENAL WIN!
Rodri for Manchester City.
RAMSALE SAVES!
ARSENAL ARE ON THE BRINK!
Arsenal’s regular penalty taker Saka to take third. He rolls it in.
Maybe a bit nervy but Ortega heads the wrong way.
Perfect from Arsenal so far.
Bernardo Silva to get City on the board.
He does, high into the side netting.
City are still chasing, though.
Trossard up next.
No worries from the Belgian.
2-0 Arsenal.
De Bruyne for Manchester City… HITS THE BAR!
Usually so reliable!
Advantage Arsenal.
The Gunners captain gets his side off to a positive start.
Bottom left, Ortega goes the wrong way.
Good start for Arsenal.
Aaron Ramsdale and Stefan Ortega the two goalkeepers.
Kicks to be taken at the Arsenal end. The Gunners up first, too.
It’s Odegaard.
Well. I thought City had that in the bag but a huge slice of luck and good work from Trossard means we go to penalties.
Great for the entertainment value. Rubbish for fans of either of these clubs.
Spot kicks coming up.
That’s all. Wow. Penalties it is.
THE 101ST MINUTE!
The corner is cleared and Trossard sells Alvarez a dream. He cuts inside and shoots on his left. A huge deflection off Akanji and Ortega is left helpless.
Good chance for Saka to feed Vieira but his pass is heavy and the Portugal man is pushed out wide.
Arsenal win a corner. Saka takes. Headed away. GOOOALLLLLLLLL!
Both players are strapped up. Walker is first up, I think both players will carry on.
We’re going to go well over 100 minutes now.
Wembley is a little quiet.
Arsenal really struggling to break City down here.
The champions have 11 behind the ball. Tierney’s cross finds Vieira but his cross is headed away and we break for a clash of heads.
Kyle Walker and Partey it is.
Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira on for Gabriel and Havertz. A potential injury for Gabriel there.
Eight minutes added on.
Two good saves from Ramsdale. First from Foden and then from Rodri’s low diving header.
Five to go.
Declan Rice makes way for Arsenal, with Eddie Nketiah coming on. A roll of the dice for Arteta.
Arsenal must score in the next 10 minutes.
He’s threatened to do this since coming on and Palmer gets it spot on.
Foden drives forward and De Bruyne eventually heads down to Palmer. He cuts inside Tierney – oh, Timber had done so well out there – and he curls into the far corner past Ramsdale.
City lead!
WE HAVE OUR OPENER! IT’S COLE PALMER!
A change for Arsenal as Martinelli makes way. Leandro Trossard comes on.
Timber is also coming off, with Tierney on. A good full debut for him.
15 minutes to go.
Foden feeds Palmer on the right and he takes a touch to shoot, Great block from Timber who deflects the effort over the bar.
City win another corner but Foden’s cross is eventually cleared.
Gabriel is booked for stopping Ortega from taking a quick goal kick.
Remember, if there’s no winner here we go straight to penalties. Bookings don’t carry over to next week, either.
A great cross from White and Saka goes with his right but misses the ball! Would’ve been almost a certain goal had he made contact.
Two more changes for City as Odegaard tries to get the Arsenal crowd into things.
Kevin De Bruyne is on for his first minutes since the Champions League final.
Haaland makes way. As does Kovacic for Cole Palmer.
Saka goes down and is in a lot of pain after a challenge from Dias.
Heavy touch and he stamps on his foot. More impact pain more than anything I imagine.
Martinelli takes the free kick but it goes all the way out again.
Some strapping for Odegaard but he’s fine to carry on.
Phil Foden is on in the first change of the game. Grealish off.
Tough one for the forward today.
Cross from Walker is cut out by Partey for a City corner.
Alvarez’s cross is met by Stones and Ramsdale saves up more than anything. His first real save of the game.
Odegaard now down hurt.
Slow going at the start of this half.
Grealish gets a cross in down the left but it’s headed away. Odegaard then feeds Havertz but he loses out. He’s not had the best game.
A break in play as Dias goes down hurt but we carry on as we were.
We’re back underway for the second half.
Some more first half snaps for you from Wembley.
All even at the break.
Not too many chances then from the first half but Havertz has gone closest with Martinelli also missing a good chance.
A good tactical battle, with the game set to go straight to penalties if it’s a draw at full time.
A big 45 ahead.
Arsenal are certainly looking to go longer at points today and they’re having some joy, gaining possession up the field.
That’s your lot for the first half as the whistle is blown for half time.
Rodri goes for goal from the centre circle and it’s close! I think Ramsdale gets back in time but he looked concerned and it was just over the bar.
Alvarez then shows good determination down the right but Salbia is well placed to clear the low cross.
Three minutes added on.
Saka shoots on his left but bends it around the post.
Arsenal are well on top right now. Camped in City’s half.
Saka squares it to Havertz who simply has to score! Ortega saves but Havertz was just a few yards out and completely open!
Ortega is caught out this time and is forced to concede a corner.
It’s headed away. Arsenal enjoying more of the ball now. Martinelli beats Walker and Stones has to clear.
Martinelli’s corner goes all the way out.
Havertz goes into the book now as he trips Stones from behind. Good decision, it was very deliberate.
Ramsdale is then almost tackled by Haaland on the goal line after a heavy touch.
The atmosphere is very good here with Gunners supporters riled up.
Alvarez is now booked for kicking the ball away after a foul. You cannot do that anymore these days.
Space is coming at a rarity for Haaland as Saliba smothers him on this occasion.
Silva gives away a foul and Arteta is fuming again. I don’t really know why, but he’s got to be careful.
Now a chance for Arsenal! White is in down the right and plays it into Havertz, who turns but Ortega saves. Martinelli shoots on the follow-up but Stones blocks very well. So many bodies in the way.
Best chance of the game.
Howard Webb gets a huge boo from the Arsenal fans as he’s shown on the big screen. I wonder why.
Arsenal break now with Martinelli down the left but Timber loses it in the end. There’s been next to nothing in terms of chances here bar the Rodri effort but it’s an intriguing tactical battle.
Rodri fouls Havertz on the half-way line and gets away without a booking.
Arteta is booked for his reaction. They’re clamping down on dugout control too.
Arsenal defending deep here. City in control.
Declan Rice is playing very high up here. Almost doing a man-for-man job on Rodri at times.
Rodri almost opens the scoring out of nothing. Partey gives the ball away and the midfielder shoots but it’s defelcted wide by Rice.
Referees are going to be harsher on yellow cards this year. Thomas Partey hasn’t got the memo and he’s booked for kicking the ball away after a foul.
Saka beats Akanji down Arsenal’s right but the defender recovers really will and wins a goal kick.
Akanji gets down the left well and his cross is good, with White having to head deep into his own box. Good opportunity.
Timber has to play without a boot as City attack – Gabriel clears.
Timber eventually goes down so play is stopped and Timber can get his boot.
A quick start from both sides here, but no chances to report on yet.
Jurrien Timber is playing inverted for Arsenal with John Stones staying in defence for now.
Arsenal picking when to press.
After the anthems, we are underway at Wembley!
The teams are on their ways out. Manchester City could win seven trophies this season, with this being the first.
The national anthem will then play. Atmosphere is good!
Keane and Hayes are a bit split on a video that’s been shown on the tele about Arsenal trying to compete this season.
Hayes: ‘First off that was a brilliant piece from everyone involved. Learnings, you heard it from Arteta. They realise that they need to be more physical more decisive in the moment and you have to adapt.
‘There are going to be moments in games – you might not win it in the way that you want to but all those learnings have certainly given the fans even greater expectations this year.’
Keane: ‘I think it is a lovely piece but it means nothing. It means absolutely nothing. A lot of people talk a good game talk a lot about where they need to improve. The proof is in the pudding. They got themselves into a great position last year, obviously they came up short, physically, mentally and strength in depth so they can talk ’til the cows come home.
‘The proof is in the pudding – when the going gets tough, like last year we’ll see if they’re in the same position and they can learn from it.’
Anyway, the Shield is on its way out and the teams will be with us soon.
New City signing Josko Gvardiol is here at Wembley having signed yesterday.
He isn’t in the squad today but has been training with City and will likely be involved next week.
‘His physical condition is really good. He left-footed build-up is really good. It is a lot of money but he is 21 so it is not a problem. We are looking at not just season, but the future.’ The words of Pep Guardiola.
The warm-ups are well underway at Wembley and hope and anticipation is building around the ground.
A hard one to call, this. Should be a good one, though.
Roy Keane and Emma Hayes have been discussing what City will want to achieve after last year’s success.
Keane, who won the Treble with Manchester United in 1999, admitted that it’s a worry the club won’t be as hungry.
‘I think that’s always a worry for the manager, staff and the senior players when you have a little bit of success and there’s players coming back now – is that desire and hunger still there?’ he said.
‘So that’s the big question mark over City but they’ve had a lot of success and they’ve always kicked on. Every time I’ve listened to Pep, he’s certainly not going to drop his guard.’
Hayes added: ‘You have to take your breaks too and I can see Pep looks refreshed. Winning is addictive, and I just think you have to figure out what those few margins will be and I’m sure in the pre-season they certainly know what that is.
‘They’re a top team and a top talent and I certainly can see that they’ll be competing again.’
Arsenal are at Wembley with kick-off just over half an hour away.
They’re underdogs today, but will fancy their chances.
For Arsenal, it’s Kai Havertz who is picked to lead the line in the absence of Jesus.
All three summer signings start, with Jurrien Timber likely to invert from left back.
Declan Rice is in midfield with Thomas Partey, and the rest, really, is as you’d expect.
So Kevin De Bruyne is on the City bench today, with Kyle Walker captaining the side.
Nathan Ake isn’t in the squad, and with Josko Gvardiol only joining yesterday it looks as if Akanji will play on the left of defence.
Mateo Kovacic starts alongside Alvarez in midfield, with Phil Foden having to settle for a place on the bench.
Erling Haaland leads the line.
Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz.
Subs: Turner, Tomiyasu, Kiwior, Holding, Tierney, Smith Rowe, Vieira, Trossard, Nketiah.
Ortega, Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji, Rodri, Kovacic, Silva, Alvarez, Grealish, Haaland.
Subs: Ederson, Phillips, Laporte, De Bruyne, Gomez, Foden, Palmer, Lewis, McAtee.
The fans are starting to gather around Wembley ahead of the game, with Wembley Way packed out.
City fan groups had called for fans to boycott the game due to scheduling times, but the English champions have sold out their allocation.
More on that below.
One blow in particular for Arsenal is that Gabriel Jesus is set to be out for a few weeks with an injury.
He missed the game against Monaco and Arteta confirmed afterwards that he will be out for a short period of time after undergoing a procedure on his knee.
Arsenal have been here before. Jesus missed months last season after getting injured during the World Cup, and they coped fine.
There are options now of how to replace him. Eddie Nketiah is the natural option, but Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz – whose spots in the starting team may not be guaranteed – can fill in too.
We’ll see what Arteta goes with in under half an hour.
The scene is set at Wembley, with kick-off two hours away.
City’s trophies have been on show next to the Community Shield, with the players’ tunnel donned up and the pitch as clean as ever.
Isn’t it just so great that football is back?
City, meanwhile, have played just three games after a later end to last season due to obvious reasons.
A 5-3 win over Yokohama F. Marions in Japan kicked things off, before a win against Bayern Munich added confidence to the group – if they needed any.
They lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid last weekend but today will give Pep Guardiola the chance to iron out any issues and get his first trophy of the campaign on the board.
It’s been a mixed pre-season for Arsenal, in truth.
Starting with a 1-1 draw against Nurnberg, they hammered the MLS All-Stars 5-0 before losing 2-0 to Manchester United.
A 5-3 win over Barcelona followed, before Mikel Arteta’s side beat Monaco on penalties on Wednesday to lift the Emirates Cup.
Today is their last game before the start of the Premier League season, so they will hope for a good win but also more minutes in legs and Arteta will want a clearer idea of how he wants to set up against Nottingham Forest next weekend.
For Arsenal, it looked for long periods last year that they would win their first Premier League in nearly 20 years and beat City to the title.
But things went south and their form nosedived. They eventually finished five points behind Pep Guardiola’s side.
But they were so much better than they had been. They are back in the Champions League now and looked a side capable of challenging.
A few more additions this summer, headlined by Declan Rice, and they’ll want to go again.
City pretty much completed football last year.
The Premier League, the Champions League, and the FA Cup. One cannot ask for much more.
But where do you go next? Look to retain your titles and go for the quadruple, I guess.
But that’s enough for some players. A new challenge. More money.
Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez fit into those categories in one way or another. Key players last year. Gundogan was captain.
City will add. Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol have arrived, and if anyone else departs – more have been linked – they will be replaced.
But Guardiola has a challenge on his hands. Today is the first step.
So it’s Manchester City versus Arsenal. The two best teams in the Premier League last season.
The Community Shield is of course the winner of the Premier League against the winner of the FA Cup.
Arsenal didn’t win a trophy last year. And you may have heard City won a few. Since they won both of the cups required to play this game, second place in the league qualifies instead.
Therefore, City are probably favourites. But it’s a final, the first game of a new season, and anything could happen between two very good sides here.
Good afternoon one and all and welcome to Mail Sport’s coverage of this afternoon’s Community Shield at Wembley between Arsenal and Manchester City.
Whether you assess this game to be a glorified friendly or the first trophy on offer for the season, competitive football at the top level of the English game is well and truly back and both sides will have their eyes on lifting silverware in the capital today.
Kick-off is scheduled for 4pm, but join us for all the build-up to the game between two great rivals from last season.
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