The match was played between Chelsea, champions of the 2016–17 Premier League and Arsenal, who beat their opponents to win the 2017 FA Cup Final.

The shoot-out was notable as the ABBA system was trialled for the first time in English football; the format sees teams take back-to-back penalties rather than alternating.

A late challenge by Pedro on Mohamed Elneny resulted in the Chelsea attacker being shown a red card; from the free-kick Arsenal were awarded, substitute Sead Kolašinac scored on his debut.

[8] The FA brought forward the kick-off time an hour earlier to avoid a fixture clash with the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 Final.

[14] The 2017 edition was the first competitive fixture in English football to trial the ABBA penalty shoot-out system, provided scores were level after 90 minutes.

"[18] He spoke of the importance of winning the fixture as it presented the first trophy of the season and hoped the spectators would see a "good game" against Arsenal.

[18] Conte ruled Eden Hazard and Tiémoué Bakayoko out of the match with injuries and confirmed Victor Moses would play; the right-wing-back was sent off in the cup final and his one-match suspension carried over to the new season.

[18] Following a review by the FA in August, Moses was made available for the Community Shield fixture,[18] but served a ban against Burnley on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

[19] Wenger told reporters that he saw the Community Shield as "...a good opportunity to repeat the performance from the [FA Cup] final and give competition to players who need it.

[20] The future of Alexis Sánchez was a major talking point throughout the summer; Wenger adamantly told the press: "My decision is clear, he will stay.

[23] Proceeds from the match went to those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire in June; families of the victims, survivors, and emergency services personnel were invited to the event as guests.

[25] Defender Gary Cahill played his first competitive game as club captain; he officially took over the responsibility from John Terry in July.

[25] Chelsea's new signings Antonio Rüdiger and Álvaro Morata began the game as substitutes, while Arsenal included Sead Kolašinac and Reiss Nelson in their matchday squad.

[27] In the seventh minute Iwobi used his pace to get the better of Chelsea defender David Luiz, but his cutback failed to reach Lacazette's feet, instead hitting the striker's body and deflecting wide.

Arsenal created the first real chance of the game in the 22nd minute; Lacazette spearheaded a counter-attack and his curling shot went around Cahill and against the post.

[28] The turning point of the match came in the 80th minute; a late challenge by Pedro on Elneny resulted in the Chelsea attacker being shown a red card.

The first three penalties were scored – Cahill for Chelsea, and Walcott and Nacho Monreal for Arsenal, before Courtois kicked his over the bar and Morata saw his go wide.

[30] Conte was puzzled as to why the referee chose to book Willian, joking had he spoke to Madley "...we would stay and finish the game at 9 p.m."[29] He was disappointed in the manner his team had lost the match, having a man sent off, and called on his players to focus ahead of the new season.