In the dress rehearsal to the start of the new season, Arsenal beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday thanks to goals from Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud.
The Gunners were much the better side early on and took a deserved lead when Cazorla fired home from inside the area and Ramsey continued where he left off last season with another goal to make it 2-0 just before half time, following good work from Yaya Sanogo.
Giroud was introduced at half time and the Frenchman sealed the victory for Arsenal with a stunning third, smashing home from just outside the area with a powerful effort.
The game made a little bit of history with vanishing spray used for the first time in an English game when referee Michael Oliver pressed the button on his canister after 38 minutes for a City free kick in the middle of the field.
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The game is technically still a friendly and history tells us that the result rarely lingers much longer in the memory than the time it took referee Oliver’s vanishing spray to disappear, but the win will give the North Londoners plenty of confidence ahead of the new season as they prepare to welcome Crystal Palace to the Emirates next weekend.
Lineups
Arsenal: Szczesny, Debuchy, Chambers, Koscielny (Monreal 46), Gibbs, Arteta, Sanchez (Oxlade-Chamberlain 46), Ramsey (Campbell 86), Wilshere (Flamini 68), Cazorla (Rosicky 70), Sanogo (Giroud 46).
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Man City: Caballero, Clichy, Boyata, Nastasic, Kolarov (Richards 76), Jesus Navas (Sinclair 85), Toure (Zuculini 46), Fernando, Nasri (Silva 46), Dzeko (Milner 46), Jovetic.
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