The 1998 FA Charity Shield was the 76th in a series of annual English football matches organised by The Football Association and usually played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. It was contested on 9 August 1998 by Arsenal, who won both titles the previous season, and Manchester United, the league runners-up. Watched by a crowd of 67,342 at Wembley Stadium (pictured), Arsenal took the lead when Marc Overmars scored 11 minutes before half- time. They extended their lead in the second half, as Overmars and Nicolas Anelka found Christopher Wreh, who put the ball into an empty net at the second attempt. In the 72nd minute, Arsenal scored a third goal, when Anelka got around Jaap Stam in the penalty box and shot the ball past goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. Arsenal won the match 3–0, United's first defeat in the Shield in 13 years. United completed a treble of trophies in the 1998–99 season, winning the league, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_FA_Charity_Shield

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1461:

Ming Chinese general Cao Qin staged a failed coup against the Tianshun Emperor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellion_of_Cao_Qin

1794:

US President George Washington invoked the Militia Acts of 1792 to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_Acts_of_1792

1946:

The Soviet Union informed Turkey that the way the latter was handling the Turkish Straits no longer represented the security interests of its fellow Black Sea nations, escalating the Turkish Straits crisis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Straits_crisis

1978:

Two years after the discovery of toxic waste that had been negligently disposed of, US President Jimmy Carter declared a federal health emergency in the Love Canal neighborhood (pictured in 2012) of Niagara Falls, New York. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Canal

2008:

Georgia launched a large-scale military offensive against the separatist region of South Ossetia, opening the six-day Russo-Georgian War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Georgian_War

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

grass tops: (idiomatic, plural only) People in a position of power or influence at a local level. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grass_tops

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known.   --Garrison Keillor https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Garrison_Keillor