Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud scored as Arsenal ran out 3-0 winners over Manchester City in the Community Shield.
While nobody should take pre-season competition too seriously, this game in particular could reveal some truths for the year ahead. Here are three things we learned from Sunday’s Wembley showpiece.
Arsenal’s new boys shine
When Arsene Wenger was seen playing volleyball on the beaches of Rio last month, many Arsenal fans justifiably panicked. Here was their manager, the one who finally broke the club’s nine-year trophy drought, seemingly relaxed instead of aggressively building on last season’s success.
Well, now we know why he was so carefree.
Alexis Sanchez, Calum Chambers, Mathieu Debuchy and David Ospina have since relocated to north London and the first three all started the Community Shield.
Sanchez was lively in a free role behind the main striker, popping up all over the place in an action-packed first half. The Chilean was his side’s most dangerous attacker and while his final ball missed the mark at times, he still did far more good than bad. His ability to create decisive moments out of nothing adds another element of unpredictability to Arsenal’s attack and he should only improve with more game time on his new team.
Wenger has hailed Calum Chambers’ versatility and the manager decided to start the Englishman in the heart of defence. The 19-year-old was composed throughout, making key interventions to keep City’s strikers at bay while Debuchy did a solid job on the right.
Per Mertesacker has been imperious for a couple of seasons now, but his lack of pace can expose him when Arsenal is pressing up the pitch. Chambers wouldn’t have such issues, and he could get a ton of games in the heart of defence this season.
Kompany’s importance undiminished
There’s a certain theme developing on the blue side of Manchester. City will only go as far as Vincent Kompany takes them. It’s no surprise – the captain is their most important player and his presence was sorely missed against Arsenal.
The man tasked with filling in for the Belgian, Dedryck Boyata, was left wanting on all three goals.
One gets the feeling that Kompany wouldn’t have offered such brittle resistance. He’s the emotional leader of this group – the man tasked with organizing his defence in the fashion Manuel Pellegrini prefers.
The problem for City is that his injury problems are becoming far too frequent for their liking. The problem is exasperated by the fact that he’s lacked a top-class partner throughout his tenure in Manchester.
Joleon Lescott did a great job in the 2011-12 season to help win the league, but lost his position to Matija Nastasic the following year. Outside of those two, old head Martin Demichelis played a ridiculous amount of games last season – further highlighting City’s need for a dependable partner for Kompany.
The club is being linked with a bid for Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala, and he fills an obvious hole as both a partner and potential top-dog deputy for Kompany. It’s a deal that they can’t afford to mess up.
Sanogo set for sophomore improvement
Yaya Sanogo had a testing first season in the English capital, failing to register a goal. He’s looked like a different player this pre-season, though, as his pace and raw power has been on full display. He notched a cool four goals against Portuguese champions Benfica and was heavily involved against Manchester City.
First, he played a pass to Santi Cazorla for Arsenal’s opener goal in the 22nd minute. Cazorla skill was on full display in the build up and created some space by faking a shot with his right foot before slotting the ball in the net with his weaker left.
Cazorla’s effort made it two goals in his last two games – both cup finals at Wembley.
Sanogo followed that up by creating Arsenal’s second goal, holding the ball long enough for Aaron Ramsey to make a late run in the box.
The man he has to battle for competiton, Olivier Giroud, came on and scored a stunner to wrap things up. Competition should only spur them to greater heights.
Sanogo’s prolific scoring record is what prompted his purchase in the first place. He scored 34 goals in 57 games for various French national youth sides and scored 25 goals in 14 games with Auxerre’s youth team.
After Giroud ran out of gas towards the end of last season, it was Sanogo who started crucial games against Bayern Munich and Liverpool. The 21-year-old is poised to build on those experiences and take the next step in 2014-15.