Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has helped Arsenal onto further silverware after another fine display, leaving Liverpool to wallow in their disappointment.
Arsenal started the match on the front foot, dominating possession and pushing up well into our opponents half, but were unable to make our dominance pay early on. That was until Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang took a half-chance and converted that into a lead.
The Gabonese striker was allowed space by our opposing defenders, and he took no issue in cutting across his marker to create space for a shor, only to place his effort past Allison from distance, putting our side in the lead.
That goal of course changed the flow of the game, and we soon found ourselves lacking in possession, but our organisation and team ethics remained.
Liverpool looked like they were growing frustrated with their lack of serious chances in front of goal, and a little into the second-half, they opted to bring on January signing Minamoto, and the extra runner began to cause problems.
We had limited legitimate goalscoring opportunities in the second-half, while the game had looked like it was going to turn against us, especially following their equaliser from their sub.
While we managed to soak up the remaining pressure from our rivals, we were unable to create any further chances up the pitch, and penalties ensued. I won’t boast that I predicted a 1-1 finish, but I will certainly be happy if the game finishes with my final prediction, despite the named hero having to be changed.
We took control during the penalty shoot-out thanks to the overthinking of Liverpool youngster Rhian Brewster, who hesitates before his run-up only to fire the ball off the crossbar, and our 100% record in the shoot-out up to the fourth put all the pressure on our rivals.
Another of LFC’s breakthrough youngster’s was tasked with the job of keeping his side in the match, a challenge he lived up to, but that left superstar Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with the chance to fire us to yet another trophy, and of course he did not fail.
Aubameyang gets the hero tag after another Wembley performance, and caps it off with yet another trophy.
Will our Community Shield victory set us up for a rich season full of joy?
Patrick
