Arsenal vs Liverpool. FA Community Shield.
Wembley Stadium.
Match report as Rhian Brewster misses crucial penalty after Community Shield ends level in normal time at Wembley
Sunday 30 August 2020 11:52, UK
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the decisive spot-kick as Arsenal overcame Premier League champions Liverpool on penalties to secure the Community Shield after a 1-1 draw at an overcast Wembley.
Aubameyang put the Gunners in front with a brilliant finish following a sweeping move to give Mikel Arteta's FA Cup holders the lead after just 12 minutes.
But Liverpool dominated the second period and deservedly levelled when substitute Takumi Minamino slotted his first goal since his January move from Red Bull Salzburg (73) to send the game to penalties.
Rhian Brewster was introduced in second-half stoppage time ahead of the shootout, but it was his miss which proved costly as his spot-kick clipped the bar, allowing Aubameyang to step up and seal victory for the Gunners.
Less than a month after the FA Cup final was played, the traditional curtain-raiser took place in autumnal conditions as the Gunners laid down a marker in the driving rain with an eighth success in their last 10 Community Shield appearances.
Arteta described the timing of this glamorised friendly as "awkward" but there is never a bad time to be beating Liverpool. They overcame an early scare as Virgil Van Dijk correctly saw his goal ruled out for offside from Andrew Robertson's set-piece. But then we were reminded of the identity Arteta has brought to this Arsenal side.
Emi Martinez began a seven-pass move playing out from the back as the excellent Bukayo Saka found Aubameyang in his favoured left-side position. Kieran Tierney's overlap was enough to prevent Neco Williams from getting close as Arsenal's talisman cut onto his right boot and unleashed an unstoppable shot low into the bottom corner.
It was a special strike followed by a special celebration as the Gabonese striker paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman, best known for playing Black Panther in the hit Marvel superhero franchise, who has died aged 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
The margin of Arsenal's half-time lead might have been greater had Eddie Nketiah not been wasteful on two occasions - both set up by Saka. The first chance came at him after good play by Granit Xhaka in midfield as Alisson was alert to his low shot down to his left before Saka again found the young striker in space but his shot cleared the crossbar.
Liverpool had offered very little and had looked the side with just a week's training following a curtailed break. Klopp spoke bullishly this week of not setting out to "defend their Premier League title but to attack it" - and his side started the second period with real purpose as Roberto Firmino's curling shot veered just wide of Martinez's left-hand post after 51 minutes.
Moments later, Arsenal were thankful to their goalkeeper as Sadio Mane was found by Robertson clear of Rob Holding but the Spaniard kept out his shot with his legs to preserve Arsenal's lead.
Klopp turned to Minamino just before the hour mark to provide Arsenal with a different problem to the industrious James Milner. With the rain falling heavily over Wembley, Arsenal began to fatigue and within 14 minutes of his introduction, Minamino had his first Liverpool goal.
Mohamed Salah cut in from the right before the ball fell kindly for the Japanese forward to slot past Martinez. There was a brief pause to check the goal for handball but replays showed it had brushed the arm of Cedric Soares rather than the Liverpool substitute in the build-up.
By now, Liverpool sensed the opportunity to win the game within 90 minutes as Robertson's deep cross was chested down superbly by Mane but Martinez was out quickly to close the angle. There was still time for Joe Willock to snatch victory for Arsenal but he headed Cedric's cross wide when well placed.
As last year, the contest was decided on penalties and after Brewster's effort thundered onto the crossbar Aubameyang sent Alisson the wrong way to complete five perfect spot-kicks and a 16th Community Shield success for Arsenal.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta: "I keep saying the same thing [on Aubameyang's future]. I try to do my job which is to convince him that he's at the right place and the right environment here to produce moments like he's done today and he did here just three weeks ago. I am very positive that he's going to sign. There are a lot of things that are involved in a contract deal and we're trying to solve them.
"The move from the team for the goal we scored was really good and Aubameyang puts the ball all the time where it belongs which is in the back of the net. The way he took the last penalty was really good and it's another trophy for us. I'm delighted with his performance with and without the ball.
"I'm not worried [about the situation with Aubameyang]. We can only try to do as much as possible to convince the player or tell them what we think about him. We can put all the cards on the table to try to keep him here but afterwards it's down to the player and the agent to agree to that.
"I think we've built a really good relationship between us and hopefully we can do it. Now, I am confident and I'm happy. I can see how he behaves every day and how much he works in training. It's a really good sign."
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp: "We were here to win the game, I hope that much was obvious. We didn't lose the game but we lost the competition. If we scored earlier that would've helped but there wasn't enough time.
"I was pleased with parts of the game. I know what situation we're in from a physical and technical point of view. Against a 5-4-1 and a side with a low block you need fresh legs. Now we have two weeks to prepare the new season.
"We had to get control back of the game and we had that in the second half. Arsenal didn't really create chances and we had to work hard to win back the ball. We had our two or three big moments that we didn't take and that's the reason for the result."
There were so many positives for Arteta, although it's curious that two of the star performers were goalkeeper Martinez and wing-back Ainsley Maitland-Niles - two players who have been strongly linked with moves away from Arsenal in the coming weeks.
Saturday was the versatile midfielder's 23rd birthday, capped later in the evening by a call-up to the England squad for the forthcoming Nations League double-header against Iceland and Denmark.
He played superbly on the left wing with Tierney providing support to nullify the threat of Mohamed Salah. This was a supremely disciplined display to add to his impressive outing against Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez in the FA Cup semi-final.
Eight of Arsenal's FA Cup-winning side started with Maitland-Niles among them, but he has been linked with a move to Wolves this summer. There is a need to raise funds but perhaps there are still big decisions to be made about just who is allowed to leave.
The international break takes place over the next 10 days before squads return ahead of the start of the new Premier League season on Saturday, September 12.
Arsenal travel to face Fulham at 12.30pm, while later that day champions Liverpool host Leeds live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event. Coverage starts at 4.30pm with kick-off at 5.30pm.
