Arsenal beating Manchester City in the Community Shield could now actually spell bad news for Mikel Arteta as the Gunners strive to win the Premier League title this season.
The Emirates Stadium outfit emerged triumphant on penalties at Wembley last Sunday after drawing level in stoppage time. Leandro Trossard tried his luck in the 101st minute and saw his strike ricochet off Manuel Akanji to force a shoot-out. He then converted for a 4-1 result.
Cole Palmer had broken the deadlock after 77 minutes with a superb strike. But Manchester City failed to hold on and struggled from 12 yards out. While Arsenal were immaculate from the spot, Kevin De Bruyne hit the bar before Aaron Ramsdale denied Rodri down to his right.
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Arsenal will have eyes on the Premier League title in 2023/24
Arsenal had qualified for the Community Shield after pushing Manchester City the closest in the 2022/23 Premier League title race. The Citizens would go on to win the top-flight by five points before adding the FA Cup to their haul. They also won the Champions League in June.
The Emirates Stadium team will now hope Arteta can go one better and bring a first Premier League title back to north London since Arsene Wenger’s 2003/04 Invincibles team. Arsenal had led the table for 248 days in 2022/23 but fell just shy after their end-of-season collapse.
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Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice have joined Arsenal in their hopes of avoiding a repeat in 2023/24. But Arteta will also have to change their worrying record on the back of Arsenal beating Manchester City in the Community Shield to win the Premier League title.
Arteta must change a worrying record after winning the Community Shield
The 2023 Community Shield marks the fifth time that Arsenal have won the curtain-raiser in 10 years. Wenger claimed the trophy in 2014, 2015 and 2017, while Arteta has followed suit in 2020 and now 2023. But they have not always then delivered in the Premier League term.
Arsenal lifted back-to-back FA Cup titles in 2014 and 2015 and won the Community Shield in those years, as well. But Wenger oversaw a third-place finish in the league in 2014/15 and a title fight fall apart in 2015/16. Leicester City won a title fight that Arsenal let disintegrate.
While the Foxes’ fabled title-clinching campaign was legendary, Arsenal had an edge after a 2-1 win over Leicester in February. Defeats to Manchester United and Swansea City plus five draws in their next 12 fixtures meant they had to settle for second by a whopping 10 points.
As for the 2017/18 campaign, Wenger would only guide Arsenal to a sixth-place finish after winning the Community Shield. It proved to be his last in charge, as well, after failing to seal a Champions League spot for the first time since 1997. And Arteta did worse still in 2022/21.
Arteta enjoyed a triumphant first season in charge after replacing Wenger’s successor, Unai Emery, in December 2019. He led Arsenal to an FA Cup title in 2020 and then beat Liverpool on penalties in the Community Shield. But the Gunners finished the league in eighth place.
Arsenal and Arteta would undertake a major overhaul of the playing squad to become title contenders in 2022/23. Now, the Gunners will hope that their work avoids a repeat of their recent struggles in a Premier League season on the back of winning the Community Shield.