Despite previously winning two trophies at Wembley Stadium as our manager, Mikel Arteta believes lifting the 2023 Community Shield in front of our Gooners is as good as it gets.
Just as it looked like we would be suffering defeat after Cole Palmer gave City the lead and we moved into the 11th minute of stoppage time, Leandro Trossard found the net to set up a penalty shootout, which we came out on top of by a 4-1 scoreline.
And the boss was thrilled he could share the winning feeling with friends and family, as well as the tens of thousands of Arsenal supporters who packed out the national stadium and willed us on to keep going right until the end, which reaped rewards.
Summing up his emotions post-match, he said: “I’m extremely happy, proud and relieved at the same time, because it doesn’t get any better than winning at Wembley in front of your fans and playing the best team in the world. Winning it the way we did it, I’m extremely happy.
“It was incredible, obviously in an empty stadium it feels good, but just seeing the happiness in their faces, how they were interacting and connecting with the players is just great.”
We put in an excellent display throughout the contest but saw a number of chances go begging before slipping behind, however Mikel was delighted that his players had the resilience to keep going against the best team in Europe.
And he feels that spirit, coupled with the added practice gained from the penalty shootouts during our US tour and at the Emirates Cup in midweek, made all the difference as we came back from an improbable situation to lift the trophy.
Summing up the game, he said: “We had three big chances, and when you don’t [take your chances], they come to the other end, you make a little mistake, and they punish you big time. After that, psychologically, it was really difficult because they are so used to playing the clock down, and managing those moments.
“We discussed that we had six subs today, and they were going to have a big impact and they did – Leo scoring the goals and Fabio scoring the last penalty.
“We’ve done it [taken part in a shootout] three times in pre-season. It was part of the plan to get ready just in case we had to do it today, that it wasn’t the first time to do that, and I think that it paid off.
“The energy is great, the positivity around the place, you feel the happiness around everybody at the club. Let’s enjoy the day and then tomorrow, let’s go back to work because on Saturday, it will be a very different, but very tough match as well.”
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