On August 6, Arsenal secured victory in the FA Community Shield title, defeating treble winners Manchester City in a penalty shootout.
The initial stages of the match saw Manchester City exert control with smooth possession play, while Arsenal gained momentum later in the first half, aided by Declan Rice's deeper positioning.
Rice's positional shift provided space for creative passes and enabled right-back Ben White to make overlapping runs.
Arsenal's innovative 'false No 9' strategy saw Havertz miss two significant scoring chances during the first 45 minutes of play.
Initially, a precise left-footed curler from Declan Rice was saved by Stefan Ortega after a well-executed swivel by Havertz. Subsequently, Havertz had another opportunity from Bukayo Saka's precise pass, but his shot went directly at Ortega.
The deadlock was broken in the 78th minute when Manchester City's Cole Palmer skillfully curled a left-footed shot from the right into the far top corner. Arsenal's goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale, thwarted Phil Foden's subsequent attempt to score.
However, just moments before the final whistle, substitute Leandro Trossard for Arsenal capitalized on a short corner, entered the box, and unleashed a shot that was deflected into the net by defender Manuel Akanji, leading to a penalty shootout.
In an unexpected twist during the shootout, Kevin De Bruyne hit the crossbar, while Martin Odegaard scored for Arsenal.
