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Arsenal won the FA Community Shield on Saturday on penalty kicks over Liverpool, winning the penalty shootout 5-4 after regulation ended at 1-1. The Gunners made a clinical display of their attempts, hitting all five with brilliantly placed shots, while Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster was the only one to miss, swinging his shot off the crossbar. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored the opening goal, scored the winner to start the celebrations.
In regulation time, Arsenal scored in the first half and Liverpool drew with less than 20 minutes to go. Aubameyang made it 1-0 for the Gunners in the 12th minute with a brilliantly placed ball from the top of the box to the far post, while it was a shot from Takumi Minamino from close range that tied things in the 73rd minute.
There was no overtime, with rules stating that the action goes directly to penalty kicks. In the end, it was a deserved result for the Gunners, who are riding a wave after winning the FA Cup final over Chelsea earlier this month.
Here are three takeaways from the match:
1. Aubameyang owns Wembley
Aubameyang surely likes to play for Emirates, but Wembley is now his home away from home. He has scored five goals in his last three games, including two in the FA Cup semi-final and two more in the FA Cup final before his goal on Saturday, which came with a Celebration “Wakanda Forever” in honor of Chadwick Boseman, who died on Friday.
The signal that he is taking a step forward in the big games against big rivals will be key to the success of this season for the Gunners, who enter the game with higher expectations thanks to the last month of play.
2. Does Maitland-Niles keep now?
With Ainsley Maitland-Niles tied in with a trade to the Wolves, will he finally stay at the club after this one? He started off, gathered a man from the match performance and he looked really good. He defended well, was good with the ball moving forward and was arguably the best player on the field.
According to The Guardian, his potential move is to get minutes with the first team. You may have won a lot more in this game.
3. Liverpool may have to speed up the pursuit of Thiago
It’s just a glorified preseason game, but the Reds’ creativity just wasn’t there. The team lacked a bit of calm on the ball, and don’t be surprised if that increases rumors that Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcántara will join. He has been linked to the club for a while. Liverpool created 15 shots, putting just four on frame, but they will want to avoid overreacting. The fact is, Liverpool haven’t looked good for a while, including the end of the Premier League season and losses to Atlético de Madrid in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Having a player like Thiago could completely change this team in the final. third, which is a scary thought for other teams. But it’s important to realize that the team didn’t have key players like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson. Most likely they are fine, but there is no doubt that adding Thiago would be huge.
Arsenal 1, Liverpool 1 (Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties)
⚽ Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (12 ‘)
⚽ Liverpool: Takumi Minamino (73 ‘)
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