I’ve long struggled to quantify the importance of the FA Community Shield. The gravity it is assigned by the media and the general public is rather inconsistent; in the buildup to the game TNT Sports’ pitchside pundits classified it as a competitive match, while during the game the same network’s commentators referred to it as a preseason friendly. Then there’s the matter of it being considered a legitimate trophy when listing out Pep Guardiola’s resume, but being laughed off as an inconsequential matter if trying to assign that same glory to someone like Mikel Arteta.
The branding of the fixture doesn’t exactly help. The match was created in 1908 as the Charity Shield, with its goal to be an annual game that fundraised for good causes selected by the FA. However, the UK government’s investigated the FA in 2002 and discovered delayed payouts to charities and an incomplete accounting of where all the money from ticket sales actually went. In response, the FA renamed the fixture the Community Shield, a minimal-effort move that vaguely nodded toward a community focus instead of a charitable one, allowing English football’s governing body to avoid running afoul of regulations.
But such a strange framing of this match has frustratingly detracted from what it ultimately is: a showdown between the Premier League champions and the winners of the FA Cup (or, if one team has achieved both titles the previous season, between them and the Premier League’s runners-up. It is a contest between two sides who can claim to be the best team in England for conclusive bragging rights, intriguingly positioned as the curtain raiser for a new season.
In reality, this is the English Super Cup. At least, it should be called that. But unfortunately, it doesn’t get the respect that its counterparts in other countries do. The likes of the Supercopa de España and Trophée des Champions are hailed by fans of their respective leagues as proper silverware. But the Community Shield, despite essentially serving the same function, isn’t.
What I’ve learned over the last few days is that it is the players who decide the true value of the fixture. Not me, not the media, not trolls on Twitter, but the footballers who step on that pitch and actually partake in the occasion. And Arsenal’s players made it clear that they took this match seriously. In interviews throughout preseason, Viktor Gyökeres and Mikel Merino practically scoffed at the idea of the Community Shield being another friendly. Arteta spoke of wanting to win that game against Manchester City, who have been the Gunners’ primary rival as they’ve competed for titles these last few years.
The team’s actions matched those words of intent. The manager named the strongest lineup he could muster at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and included the rest of his most capable charges on the bench. No fringe players such as Reiss Nelson or Fábio Vieira and no academy kids were included in the matchday squad.
Literally from the first minute, Arsenal informed the world in no uncertain terms that they meant business. Just 23 seconds after they kicked the match off, Riccardo Calafiori put the English champions ahead. Kai Havertz doubled the lead just before the half hour mark while Martin Ødegaard made it 3-0 shortly after the interval. It was a truly dominant display against Enzo Maresca’s men.
And I think with that performance, the Gunners made this match mean something. Ultimately, the impression I got was that the shackles were off. The fear hanging over this squad ahead of each clash with City last season was nonexistent on Sunday; even without William Saliba and Jurriën Timber, and with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka not fit enough to start, the Gunners played with the confidence of champions. The title holders didn’t just so they could overcome a City side that they didn’t beat head-to-head last season — they openly relished the opportunity to do so.
Arsenal threw down a marker for all their would-be challengers this season. No matter how insignificant people may think the Community Shield is, the champions sent an undeniable message out to the rest of the Premier League: Arteta’s men are raring to go again. And this time, they plan on being even better than they were last season.
Ballers
Christos Tzolis
It has been essentially a perfect preseason for the new recruit from Club Brugge. Tzolis registered a goal contribution in every match he played during preseason. Now, in his first competitive match for the Gunners, he kicked things up a notch. The Greek forward assisted twice against City on Sunday to get his account up and running with aplomb.
His first came in the 28th minute. He outwitted Abdukodir Khusanov and rose highest to a back post cross from Ødegaard, perfectly heading the ball into the path of Havertz for the German to score from point-blank range. He then assisted Ødegaard by drilling a ball from the left flank across the top of City’s penalty area, which the skipper took in stride before scoring.
I just love how Tzolis almost always makes the right choice on the ball. Aside from one play in which he attempted a strange ball toward the byline for Calafiori instead of taking a clear shooting opportunity, he always displayed excellent decision-making. That is his superpower, and it’s what I think will make him a gem for Arsenal this season.
Martin Ødegaard
I’m going to say it: I think Ødegaard is back to his best. The captain has put up some encouraging showings since he has returned from World Cup duty — he once more is making Arsenal tick in all thirds by getting involved in buildup, creating chances, nipping in to win the ball off opponents, and looking more to get on the end of them than he has in the last couple years. He also looks much sharper physically. On Sunday, that culminated in a tremendous performance.
The Norwegian was instrumental in two of his team’s goals. As mentioned previously, Ødegaard’s deftly lofted ball to Tzolis led to Arsenal’s second. And he himself scored the third and final goal of the match. After receiving Tzolis’ ball, he worked himself into a one-on-one with Gianluigi Donnarumma. But instead of accepting the high likelihood of scoring he went for a bit of flair, delectably sitting the Italian keeper down with a dummied shot before sliding the ball into an empty net. In a team playing with confidence, Ødegaard is leading by example.
Additionally, his all-around game was delightful. He completed three dribbles, the most in the game. He also won five of six ground duels, showing he is once again willing to get stuck in and hopefully over his injury woes. The captain also finished with 55 passes completed from 58 attempted and nine ball recoveries. Truly, it felt like he was everywhere. And it was so fun to watch.
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Myles Lewis-Skelly
With Rice not quite up to speed enough to assume his role in midfield, it was Lewis-Skelly who slotted in next to Bruno Guimarães in the center of the pitch. And in the wake of rumors regarding his future, the Hale End graduate wasted no time emphasizing that he was plenty to contribute at Arsenal. In the first minute of the match, the young Englishman released a spectacular no-look pass to split City’s defense and put Calafiori in on goal. It was perhaps the standout moment of quality in the match.
From there, Lewis-Skelly provided a stable presence next to Guimarães. He was frequently there to receive the ball under pressure or win it in midfield, and used his trademark foul-winning skills to get out of trouble when necessary — including holding off Nico O’Reilly and diverting a rebound away from close range after an Erling Haaland snapshot. The 19-year-old also put in a couple important interventions in his own box as Arsenal kept a clean sheet. All in all, it was exactly the kind of performance we hoped to see when his name showed up in the starting lineup. Personally, I suspect Lewis-Skelly will be at this club for quite some time.
Riccardo Calafiori
For most teams, the player making a run in behind the opposition’s back line less than 30 seconds into a match is a forward. Not at Arsenal. Inside a minute, the left back was found wonderfully by Lewis-Skelly, and coolly fired home past his countryman to give Arsenal an instant lead in Cardiff. He also was very unfortunate not to score a second goal; in the 43rd minute, his volley from a Ben White cross sailed just over the crossbar.
But such is the unicorn nature of Calafiori. The Italian’s heatmap makes for interesting viewing. He very often could be found on the left flank in the first and middle thirds, as is the case with any left back. He also spent a good deal of time in the left side of his own penalty area — nothing surprising there, either. But then is the fact that he also regularly popped up inside City’s box, but never really on the left side of the final third. For all intents and purposes, Calafiori functioned as a second striker for much of the match.
But he still did his defensive duties. During his hour on the pitch, Antoine Semenyo — who took the most shots in the game — didn’t register a single attempt. The defender continues to show that he may just be one of Arsenal’s most talented players.
Kai Havertz
The German’s goalscoring form continues. In the 28th minute, Havertz seized onto a floated header from Tzolis and nodded home from close range to make it 2-0 to the Gunners; it wasn’t the most clinical finish, but he put enough power on the shot to force Donnarumma to bobble the ball into his own net. That was Havertz’s only shot of the game but from there, the forward served as an excellent fulcrum for Arsenal’s offense.
And while he didn’t serve up a particularly electrifying performance, Havertz’s showing on Sunday underlined something that shouldn’t go unnoticed heading into the new season: this attack works better when he’s in it. Not only is a scorer for the big games, but he facilitates the players around him. He takes the beatings from defenders and gives enough back to allow Arsenal to exert control over opponents. Gyökeres didn’t do that when he came on, and I think that’s why Havertz remained on the pitch for as long as he did. I don’t want to go so far as to list the Swede as a Faller, but I think at this point it is quite evident that Havertz allows the Gunners to dominate more than Gyökeres does.
David Raya
After a summer of Kepa Arrizabalaga and Illan Meslier (but mostly the former), seeing Arsenal’s starting goalkeeper back between the sticks was a joyous breath of fresh air. The Spaniard, despite spending the World Cup on the bench, was back to his immaculate best instantly. He made four saves over the course of the match, earning a clean sheet against Arsenal’s main title rivals last season.
He’s just so alert to danger. A first-time shot in the box from Haaland? Saved. Semenyo fires an attempt through Gabriel’s legs and at goal? Raya’s got it covered. Everything just feels so much safer when he is on the pitch.
Additionally, the return of his distribution elevated Arsenal’s buildup once more. He consistently served as a safety valve for his defenders, an option for them to securely get rid of the ball under pressure. And Raya expertly moved the ball up the pitch as he always does. The highlight was an amazing ball in the 41st minute — under pressure and on his weak foot, the keeper pinged a divine ball right to Tzolis, in a small pocket between City players in the center of the pitch, for the Greek to bring down and initiate a counter. Make no mistake, Raya will once again be one of the Gunners’ most important players.
Fallers
Gabriel Martinelli
Something that was just as noticeable as the players included in the matchday squad was the players who were left out altogether. Martinelli was one of those players. After featuring in multiple preseason games, the Brazilian was not involved in Sunday’s match.
Given the increased links to a departure — Galatasaray apparently lodged a bid, Napoli are reportedly interested, and even Al Sadd are supposedly monitoring Martinelli’s situation — the decision to leave the winger out seemed pointed. Tzolis played the entirety of the match as he was the only established left-sided attacker in the squad (Eberechi Eze was there, but he seems to be more of a central option now). The fact that Martinelli still was omitted despite the lack of options in that position tells me that Arsenal are trying to send him a message: it’s time to go.
The Brazilian does not seem to have taken the news well; apparently, he remained on the sideline as his teammates celebrated their Community Shield triumph. On one hand, I understand that the club are under pressure to sell and could stand to be a little more ruthless about it. It’s a business and although it’s our right as fans, the people actually running Arsenal can’t allow emotions to factor into their decisions.
But on the other hand, it makes me sad to see Martinelli treated like this. He has been a faithful servant of the club for years. To see him forced out months after helping Arsenal win a title feels unfair. Unfortunately, that is how football goes sometimes.
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