Mikel Arteta has hailed Arsenal’s FA Community Shield victory over Manchester City and believes it will help raise the belief within his side ahead of the new season.
The Gunners laid down an early marker of their intentions by overcoming Pep Guardiola's Treble winners 4-1 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw at Wembley Stadium.
See: Arsenal beat Man City to win Community Shield
💬 "We are here to win trophies. It's a joy to see so many happy and proud people, and the connection with our supporters in Wembley feels very different."
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 6, 2023
The boss enjoyed that one ❤️ pic.twitter.com/pICU4kohbd
Arsenal led the table for 248 days last season, a record for a team not to win the competition, and Arteta is hoping this will be the first of more silverware in 2023/24.
"It feels great. I don’t think it gets much better than winning a trophy in Wembley against the best team in the world, and to do it the way we’ve done it. It’s really encouraging,” Arteta told the club’s official website after Sunday’s match.
“This is great, it lifts us, the spirit, the belief and everything, we just want to play better and win games. That's what we have to do.”
Looking ahead
Only one of the past 12 Community Shield winners have gone on to lift the league title and Arteta will be hopeful his side can change that narrative, starting with a home match against Nottingham Forest next Saturday lunchtime.
"I don't know [if this result will raise expectations too high]. I just wanted to grab that trophy as quickly as possible and then we can think about the next, but we know it's football, you win a trophy today, but tomorrow you have to be training, you have to prepare for the Nottingham Forest game in the right way.
"It will be a very different game to this, a very difficult one as well and we know that we have to go day-by-day."
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale hopes this win will set a precedent as it ended an eight-match losing streak for his side against Man City, boosting the Gunners’ confidence when the two teams next meet on 7 October.
"It's a marker to know we can go and beat Manchester City in a big game when it matters,” Ramsdale said. “I'm not sure what it will be like going through the season, but we now have that mental block gone.
“We're ready to push on all season long."