Arsenal Defeats Man City: Pep Guardiola Criticizes 11 Minutes of Extra Time, Arteta Celebrates
Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, expressed his dissatisfaction with the extended extra time after his team’s loss to Arsenal in the FA Community Shield match. On the night of August 6th, Arsenal and Manchester City played out a dramatic FA Community Shield encounter. Leandro Trossard equalized for Arsenal in the 11th minute of extra time after Cole Palmer had given Manchester City the lead. In the penalty shootout, the “Gunners” emerged victorious with a 4-1 scoreline.
During the match, the second half was extended by 8 minutes due to a heavy collision that required medical attention for Kyle Walker and Thomas Partey, thereby prolonging the extra time period. Starting from this season, referees in England are allowed to add extra time to counteract time-wasting tactics and to compensate for stoppages, similar to the approach taken in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, Pep Guardiola voiced his displeasure with this change.
After the match, Guardiola stated, “We have to get used to it. We were leading 1-0. I feel that there were not many stoppages that warranted 8 minutes of added time. But that’s a question for the referees’ committee because they don’t consult with coaches, they don’t consult with players.”
“We have to accept the new rule. Now matches will go on for 100 minutes, that’s for sure. They will increase the number of goals in matches. Just imagine a game going on due to goals, and the score is 4-3. Matches won’t finish until 8 in the morning the next day,” Guardiola added.
On the other side, Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, couldn’t hide his joy after the match, believing that the victory over Manchester City would boost the confidence of his players for the upcoming season.
Arteta shared, “The feeling is amazing. I don’t think there’s anything better than winning a cup at Wembley against the best team in the world. That’s really encouraging. It’s amazing, it lifts the spirit, the belief, everything in our place, and we just want to do better and win games. That’s what we have to do.”
“We showed determination, we really fought, and we deserved to win. It’s amazing. The reason we are here is to win titles for this football club. I’ve seen so many happy and proud fans. Now, we have to prepare well for the opening Premier League match against Nottingham Forest,” Arteta continued.
Arsenal’s victory against Manchester City secured them their 9th FA Community Shield title in the Premier League era, placing them second to Manchester United, who have won it 11 times. According to Squawka, the “Gunners” have won all of their last 5 FA Community Shield matches, including 2 wins against Manchester City and Chelsea, and 1 victory over Liverpool.
