Arsenal fans hail Mikel Arteta’s genius pre-season move for winning Community Shield after club were brutally trolled
ARSENAL fans hailed Mikel Arteta’s pre-season focus on penalties – as shootout joy against Manchester City avenged the trolls who attacked his strange strategy.
Many put Sunday’s Community Shield win over Manchester City down to Arteta‘s support for end-of-match spot-kicks on tour in the USA.
AlamyLeandro Trossard completes Arsenal’s perfect set of four penalties to win the Community Shield at Wembley[/caption]
GettyMikel Arteta got the bit between his teeth with pre-season penalties and got his reward with the Gunners’ shootout victory over Man City[/caption]
Leandro Trossard only earned the Wembley shootout with a deflected equaliser ELEVEN minutes into stoppage time, following Cole Palmer’s brilliant late opener for City.
The Gunners then confidently converted all their spot-kicks to win 4-1 on penalties.
Fans immediately homed in on Arsenal’s shootout antics across the pond last month.
One said: “Those pre-season penalty exhibitions turned out to be pretty useful in the end.”
Another posted: “It was deffo Arsenal/Arteta that asked to do Penalty shootouts after the games in USA to prepare themselves for this.”
And a third wrote: “Seems like Arteta’s plan wanting pre season games to have penalties is bearing fruit.”
City stopper Stefan Ortega was nowhere near keeping out the Wembley penalties from Martin Odegaard, Trossard, Bukayo Saka and, finally, Fabio Vieira.
And many Gunners’ supporters treated the triumph as highly significant.
DREAM TEAM IS LIVE – JOIN NOW TO BATTLE FOR THE £50k TOP PRIZE
According to one: “The most important thing for the players is the confidence to beat City.”
“This is just the beginning,” chimed another.
But two fans might have gone slightly over the top with their verdicts.
“Give Fabio Vieira another +5 contract ,” wrote one.
And another who could just possibly have been a City follower claimed: “4 rigged penalties.”
TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and confirmed switches from the world of football
