"Haaland absent 3 finals in a row" "Sextuple is on" - Twitter explodes as Arsenal beat Manchester City on penalties to win 2023 FA Community Shield

Arsenal defeated Manchester City on penalties (4-1) in the gripping clash for the Community Shield trophy at Wembley on Sunday, August 8.

Both sides were vying for dominance in the first half, but couldn't find a way to break the deadlock. Kai Havertz's relentless efforts to breach Stefan Ortega's goal were thwarted by the vigilant City goalkeeper. The Cityzens, on the other hand, didn't manage a single shot on target in the first half.

The second half started in similar fashion, but ignited into a blaze of excitement when Cole Palmer's stunning 77th-minute strike sent the City faithful into rapturous celebrations.

Arsenal's hero of the day was Leandro Trossard. In the 11th minute of injury time, his shot took a fateful deflection off Manuel Akanji and found the back of the net.

During the penalty shootout, Martin Odegaard, Trossard, Bukayo Saka, and Fabio Vieira all kept their nerve for the Gunners. For Manchester City, Bernardo Silva took the only successful spot-kick as Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri fluffed their lines.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Mikel Arteta's men securing the win after a hard-fought 90-minute draw against Manchester City:

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Arsenal's triumph awaits: Mikael Silvestre predicts Manchester City to miss out on Premier League title

Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has revealed his bold prediction that Arsenal, rather than Manchester City, will seize the Premier League crown this season. Speaking to Betting Expert, the former Red Devils defender claimed that the Cityzens will not make the top two:

“Arsenal will finish first. Second, Manchester United. Third is Manchester City and fourth will be Liverpool.”

Having held the reins of the league table for a staggering 248 days in the previous campaign, the Gunners stumbled in the crucial part of the campaign and surrendered the title to City. However, Silvestre believes that won't stop them this time, as he said:

“The fact that Arsenal were challenging last season was a surprise to everyone and even to themselves. Now that they’ve done that with consistency, being in the first spot for so long, they clearly are title challengers this season. They’ll go for it and they should.”

The Gunners have bolstered their ranks with marquee signings like Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, and Jurrien Timber, adding potency to an already formidable roster.

Manchester City have replaced the outgoing Ilkay Gundogan with Mateo Kovacic and have signed Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig. It will be interesting to see who wins the 2023-24 Premier League.