What We Learned: Community Shield vs Arsenal

Manchester City concluded their pre-season by playing Arsenal in the Community Shield. While we ended up losing in a penalty shootout, we didn’t find any glaring negatives about our performance. Considering the ebb and flow during the 90-minutes of play, all things considered, it was not a horrible performance. We still have work to do in terms of regaining sharpness, we are moving in the right direction and we feel it’s important not to jump to conclusions from a match we clearly treat as a pre-season friendly. With that in mind, here are three positive takeaways and one negative takeaway from our Community Shield match. 

(+) Are we sure Mateo Kovacic is a new City player?

Mateo Kovacic has been at Manchester City for less than two months but he looks like he has been here for years. The Croatian midfielder has adjusted almost effortlessly, already demonstrating exactly why Guardiola wanted him at the club. His first phase play helped relieve pressure from the Arsenal press and opened passing lanes for our defenders via quick 1-2’s and give-and-go’s. His second phase play was also notably excellent, showcasing his ball retention and maturity on the ball when getting pressed by the Arsenal midfield. The only critique would be his third phase play as he misplaced a few passes, mostly looking for Haaland (which is a good thing!). He had the right ideas and given it’s only the beginning of August, we are not worried at all about his ability to learn and adjust as the season progresses.

(+) Kevin De Bruyne is back

On June 10, City fans around the world held their breath as Kevin De Bruyne came out of the Champions League final injured.. again. Diagnosed with a grade three tear in his hamstring, it was predicted that he would miss the beginning of the season. However, upon knowing we were playing Arsenal in the Community Shield, he recovered with rapid speed and played about 30 minutes. Not only did he play, he made a tangible impact, assisting Cole Palmer for a wondergoal in the 77th minute. But his impact wasn’t just seen on the scoresheet. Shortly after being substituted on, we looked more threatening in the final third, which was a critique at half-time. Clearly, De Bruyne is the difference maker in this team.

(+) Cole Palmer confidence booster

Cole Palmer has received a fair amount of criticism from City fans in the last year. The general consensus has been that the 21-year-old has not performed when given the chances for the City first team. However, Guardiola seems to think otherwise and Palmer displayed today what he can bring to this team. His stunning goal in the Community Shield comes off the back of winning the U21 Euros after playing a vital role for the English U-21s. While we have our reservations about Palmer, it’s undeniable that the talent is there. He needs to build confidence and continue to learn. His performance in the Community Shield will definitely be a confidence booster. Whether that’s at City or a different club remains to be seen. 

(-) Are we too reliant on De Bruyne?

As I previously stated, De Bruyne demonstrated (once again) that he’s the difference maker in this team. However, there is an alarming downside to De Bruyne’s impact: are we too reliant on his creative genius? In the first 60 minutes, before De Bruyne was introduced, our threat in the third phase of play was minimal (if that). There was no creativity and Haaland seemed shackled. There is plenty of internal debate among the MCI team when it comes to the topic of Alvarez (a striker) as a 10 but to put it simply, I’m not a fan. Instead, I want to look at this situation from a different angle suggest that we may also be too reliant on De Bruyne. We need to find methods of creating chances when KDB isn’t on the pitch. With Gundo and Mahrez gone, we’re looking to see someone step up to the plate and deliver. 

(-) We can’t take penalties

In typical Man City style, we lost the Community Shield in a penalty shootout, reminding us that outside of Haaland, we struggle with penalties. Not only that, we lost two of our more reliable penalty takers in Gundogan and Mahrez over the summer. Let’s just hope we don’t have to go to a penalty shootout in a more serious match and end games in regulation. 

Written by: Nico

Edited by: Sheikh