Arsenal continued their fine form at the Wembley Stadium as they put in an assured display of football to beat 2019-20 Premier League champions, Liverpool, to lift the FA Community Shield.
The Gunners bagged the lead through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s delightful strike in the 12th minute but Takumi Minamino scored his first goal for Jurgen Klopp’s side to level the scores late in the second half.
No further change to the scoreline saw the game being decided via penalty shootout which the Gunners triumphed 5-4, thus giving Arteta and his boys a huge confidence boost ahead of the new season.
Here are our Arsenal player ratings from what transpired in the FA Community Shield yesterday at the Wembley Stadium.
Emiliano Martinez 7/10
The custodian made a commendable save to deny Sadio Mane from finding the back of the net but could not do much about Minamino’s goal.
Rob Holding 7/10
Holding was solid at the back and dealt with Sadio Mane’s threat with calmness, making 1 tackle and winning 1 aerial duel in the process.
David Luiz 6/10
Having started the game in a rusty manner, Luiz struggled to keep the ball and there were a number of misplaced passes by him. However, he produced a relatively assured display after the break.
Kieran Tierney 6/10
Despite a resilient defensive performance, Tierney’s offensive endeavours were far from convincing and Arteta will be expecting more of him in the Premier League.
Hector Bellerin 7/10
The Spaniard started the move which eventually led to Aubameyang’s goal and tracked back timely whenever his team needed him to make defensive contributions.
Mohamed Elneny 7/10
With a pass success rate of 92% and having won 2 aerial duels, Elneny was a disciplined figure in the middle of the park. He also made 2 tackles and shielded the backline with immense confidence.
Granit Xhaka 7/10
It was yet another solid game for the Swiss international as he pressed Liverpool’s attackers relentlessly and left no stone unturned to dictate the tempo of the game.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles 8/10
Arguably the most energetic player on the pitch, Maitland-Niles inked 4 successful tackles to his name and struck the right balance between his defensive and offensive duties.
Bukayo Saka 7/10
The charismatic young attacker was the centre of almost every attacking move by the north London outfit. Saka assisted Aubameyang for the first goal and also set up one glorious chance for Eddie Nketiah.
Eddie Nketiah 6/10
Nketiah was always in the hunt for a goal and caused all sorts of problems for Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 8/10
Aubameyang churned an exquisite finish after he was afforded a lot of space by Neco Williams. He toiled defensively as well and scored the fifth penalty during the shoot-out to win the Community Shield for his side.
Substitutions
Cedric Soares 6/10
Soares engineered an excellent chance for Joe Willock, which the latter headed wide.
Joe Willock NA
Reiss Nelson NA
Sead Kolasinac NA
Statistics Credits: WhoScored
