If anyone still questions the importance of the Community Shield they should have watched the scenes of jubilation at London's Wembley Stadium after Arsenal edged Manchester City 4-1 in a penalty shootout to secure the first piece of silverware of the season. 

Sunday's much-anticipated clash between the Premier League champions and the FA Cup winners is more than a curtain-raiser for the new season. While some still brand the game as a "friendly", there was no shortage of ruthless fouls and terribly timed tackles.  

Arsenal, who had not beaten City in eight previous attempts, forced the shootout thanks to Leandro Trossard's deflected equalizer 11 minutes into stoppage time after Cole Palmer broke the deadlock with a curling effort late in the second half.

Kevin De Bruyne missed City's first spot-kick and Rodri's effort was saved by Aaron Ramsdale before Fabio Vieira converted the decisive kick to spark wild celebrations from Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and his players. 

It represented Arsenal's 17th win in the Community Shield, moving them into second place behind Manchester United in the all-time tally. And beating the formidable treble winners in such a dramatic fashion could have an invaluable psychological impact on Arsenal in the new campaign. 

"For us, it's a statement. It's a marker to know we can go and beat Man City in a big game when it matters," beamed Ramsdale after the triumph. "I'm not sure what it'll be like this season. But that mental block is gone. We're ready to push on now." 

"We've been working hard for two years," he added. "We haven't had luck, which was probably needed in previous seasons. We've stuck at it. It's worked today."

Arteta echoed Ramsdale's sentiment. "If Aaron feels it this way, great," he said. "It's about what the players feel when they are there and they are convinced they can beat any team. We knew the challenge, especially because of their maturity and how often they play finals, but today we showed a real resilience and determination to win and fight the game." 

"It doesn't get much better than winning a trophy at Wembley against the best team in the world." 

According to stats provider Opta, only one of the last 12 winners of the Community Shield has gone on to win the Premier League title later that season, so Arteta was quick to warn his players not to get carried away ahead of Saturday's league opener against Nottingham Forest. 

"You win a trophy today, tomorrow you have to train and prepare the Forest game, which will be a very different game to this. It lifts the spirit but that's it," he said.

For City, the setback extended their run of defeats in Community Shield matches, following losses to Liverpool last season and Leicester City in 2021. But if City and Guardiola are forgiven to dismiss the significance of this game, Erling Haaland's poor form is a huge concern. 

It was an unusually tepid performance from last season's Golden Boot winner, who scored 52 goals in all competitions. Before being replaced by Palmer in the second half, Haaland had just 13 touches, with none of those coming in the opposition box. 

Guardiola, however, refused to pile more pressure on the Norwegian star, but chose to express dissatisfaction about the amount of time added to the 90 minutes as City's defense was breached by Trossard in the 11th minute of added time. 

"Now the games will be 100 minutes, that's for sure," he said sarcastically. "Imagine if they extend for goals and every time you score a goal in a game that is 4-3. You put 30 seconds, 45 seconds on for seven goals, tomorrow morning 9 a.m. I am still here playing."

While it was once again a long trip without reward for City fans, Guardiola was keen to ensure the loss will not set any alarm bells ringing. 

"I'm surprised how good we behaved," he said. "We faced an extraordinary team. The thing was to get minutes to the players and get ready for Burnley on Friday. 

"We finished an incredibly stressful season. I know how difficult this can be. We can do better, that is the target."