Arsenal have beaten French Ligue 1 side Monaco 5-4 on penalties to win their 7th Emirates Cup trophy at the Emirates Stadium.
The match ended in a 1-all draw in the normal 90 minutes, but it was decided that there would be a penalty shootout regardless of the score.
The match was played at a mid-tempo but it picked up pace as it progressed and Monaco were able to open the scoring in the 31st minute through Youssouf Fofana’s header in the far corner that gave no chance to Arsenal’s goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
With a goal down, Arsenal mounted more pressure to Monaco’s defence and new signing Declan Rice drove into the box only for his shot to be driven away by a Monaco defender.
In the resulting corner kick, Takehiro Tomiyasu saw his powerful header punched over the bar by Monaco goalkeeper Phillip Kohn.
However, in the 43rd minute, Kohn couldn’t keep away Eddie Nketiah’s tap in from close range in another Arsenal corner kick swung in by Gabriel Martinelli.
Nketiah’s goal meant both teams went into the halftime break on level terms, and it stayed that way until the final whistle.
The second half saw Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta introduce five substitutes at once in the 62nd minute in search of a winning goal.
It was Monaco that got the first goalscoring chance of the second half but captain Wissam Ben Yedder’s rushed tap-in went off the upright and ricocheted off Ramsdale before going out of play. The resulting corner kick yielded nothing.
Leandro Trossard squandered a good chance after Jorginho played him a great pass, with his shot going straight to Kohn in the 71st minute.
During the penalty shootout, Arsenal scored all theirs, while Monaco’s Takumi Minamino, who has scored a couple of goals against Arsenal during his time with Liverpool, saw his powerful shot saved by Ramsdale.
