Arsenal vs Chelsea, Community Shield - as it happened: Gunners beat London rivals on penalties
Follow all the live action from the Community Shield as champions Chelsea take on FA Cup winners Arsenal
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.When Chelsea faces Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday, the winner may be which team can best put a turbulent offseason behind them.
The traditional season curtain raiser at Wembley Stadium features league champion Chelsea against FA Cup winner Arsenal.
Past Community Shield matches have often lacked genuine competitiveness, but the shared summer of discontent and a fierce London rivalry should guarantee entertainment on Sunday.
Follow live coverage of the match below...
Please allow a moment for the live blog to load.
When is it?
The Community Shield kicks-off on Sunday afternoon, at the slightly unusual time of 2pm.
Where can I follow it?
The game will be screened live on BT Sport 1, with their coverage beginning at 1pm.
Alternatively, you can follow all of the action with The Independent’s live blog. Simply return to this page an hour ahead of kick-off.
What’s the latest team news?
Arsenal: Manager Arsene Wenger has been trying to keep hold of Alexis Sanchez as the Gunners attempt to return to the Champions League after missing out on qualification for the first time in 20 years. Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is desperate to increase the size of his "small squad" as the Blues prepare to defend its Premier League title.
“The strength of professional people is to not be diverted by noises that are not their problem,” Wenger said Thursday.
There's a lot of noise.
Sanchez was Arsenal's leading scorer with 30 goals last season, including the opener in its FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea at Wembley in May. He appears to have decided his future lies away from north London but Wenger disagrees.
“He is focused. My decision is clear, he will stay and he will respect that and that's as simple as that,” Wenger said of the Chile forward.
Despite signing France striker Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon in July for a club record 60 million euros (then $68 million), Arsenal has chosen to keep Sanchez for the final year of his contract. That risks the possibility of losing the 28-year-old star on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Chelsea: Conte won the title in his first season at Stamford Bridge with a squad lacking depth, but wants multiple new faces to cope with the additional strain of Champions League football.
“Now, for us, it's very important to try to improve our squad's numerical aspect, because we have a small squad and I think only one player is not enough to improve our team,” Conte said on Friday.
Chelsea has signed striker Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco and defender Antonio Rudiger from Roma during the offseason, but those arrivals have been offset by the departures of Nemanja Matic and John Terry. Also, Diego Costa is no longer wanted by Conte.
There have been reports of unrest between Conte and the Chelsea hierarchy over transfer policy, which were further fueled in July when the former Italy manager received a salary increase but did not extend his contract, which expires in 2019.
“The most important thing is the club knows my opinion and they're trying to do the best for our team, our squad,” Conte said. “Now we have to wait, we must have patience.”
What are the latest odds?
Arsenal to win in 90 minutes: 9/4
Chelsea to win in 90 minutes: 6/5
Draw after 90 minutes: 5/2
25 mins: A mistake from Bellerin almost lets Batshuayi in on goal but Petr Cech - alert to the danger - rushes out and clears.
27 mins: Mertesacker has gone down and there's blood streaming from his face. He walked straight onto a Gary Cahill elbow there. No malice from the Chelsea man, but that looks a sore one. Ouch.
29 mins: The Arsenal captain is receiving quite lengthy treatment and it doesn't look like he can carry on here.
New signing Sead Kolasinac is running through his warm-up and it looks as though he'll be coming on in Mertesacker's place.
31 mins: Arsenal are down to 10 men while they wait for the ball to go out.
And Chelsea make the most of it, forging a chance down the right with Moses unleashing a low shot. Cech gets his boot to it and Arsenal clear.
34 mins: Tactical switch-up. With Mertesacker's departure it looks as though Arsenal have switched to a back four. Kolasinac comes on at left-back, Bellerin on he right and Holding and Monreal in the middle. That sees Oxlade-Chamberlain push further forward on the left-wing. Arsenal had looked assured at the back - let's see how that change works out for them.
35 mins: Save! A searching ball from Willian finds Pedro down the left. The Spaniard smashes it from 20 yards out and Cech parries away.
37 mins: Yellow card! Willian appeals for a penalty after going down under a challenge from Bellerin but Bobby Madley is having none of it. It's a booking for the Chelsea man for diving. It looks as though he actually tripped over his own leg.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments