Arsenal win Community Shield after topping Liverpool on penalties

Arsenal beat Liverpool via a penalty shootout on Saturday to win the Community Shield.

Rhian Brewster bashed Liverpool's third penalty against the crossbar, allowing the Gunners to complete a 5-4 victory on spot-kicks.

The teams needed to be separated by a shootout at Wembley Stadium after goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Takumi Minamino left the scoreline level after 90 minutes.

The traditional curtain-raiser of the English season - staged, somewhat awkwardly, two weeks before the Premier League's opening weekend due to the pandemic - featured the usual experiments with personnel and shape from both teams, but there was also a pleasing competitiveness from both sides.

It didn't, as some detractors would have you believe, have the feel of a meaningless friendly match.

Once again, Aubameyang was Arsenal's goal-scorer in HA9. A sweeping cross-field ball from Bukayo Saka found Aubameyang on the right, who cut inside from the left flank and guided a right-footed shot inside Alisson's far post. The positioning, movement, and execution from the Gunners' star man was reminiscent of Thierry Henry while his celebration - a Wakanda salute - was a tribute to the star of 2018 movie "Black Panther," Chadwick Boseman, who passed away on Friday.

Aubameyang's strike put him level with Alexis Sanchez's record of five Wembley goals for an Arsenal player. Each of the Gabonese's five efforts have been shoehorned into a 42-day window.

Liverpool set the tempo for the opening stages of the first period but, by the time the players retreated for halftime, Arsenal were deservedly in the lead.

Arsenal defended stoutly in the second half while Liverpool were rusty in attack. Jurgen Klopp's Premier League champions had plenty of possession but only added a little verve to their play minutes before Minamino's 73rd-minute equalizer.

Mohamed Salah made a run across the edge of the box, trying to pry open Arsenal's defense, but it took a few untidy touches off Reds and Gunners players before the ball landed to Minamino. The Japanese attacker opened up his body and tucked the ball into the bottom corner for his first Liverpool goal.

The Gunners continued to defend well for the rest of the 90 minutes, although Emiliano Martinez needed to be on his toes to thwart Sadio Mane in a one-on-one.

The match then entered a penalty shootout which featured high-quality strikes from both sides. Brewster, who is hoping to break into Liverpool's starting XI after a fine loan spell with Swansea City, was unfortunate to see his shot denied by the woodwork before Aubameyang smashed in the decisive effort from 12 yards.

Aubameyang was unsurprisingly asked about his future at the club as he enters the final 10 months of his contract.

"We're going to see in these days. Today we take the trophy, that's it," he told BT Sport. "We are improving. There is still work to do but I'm really happy and it's an exciting time to be an Arsenal player."