Crucial victory for season ahead

Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea

Normally the season curtain raiser, the Community Shield, is a somewhat meaningless pre-season friendly with no real bearing on the Premier League season ahead. Arsenal supporters need look no further than 12 months ago, when their team defeated Manchester City 3-0 at Wembley, only to then start the new campaign with a series of disappointing results which virtually ruled them out of the title race by mid-September.

Sunday’s Community Shield match against Chelsea was different.

For a start, both managers could select near full strength sides, albeit without the talismanic Diego Costa and Alexis Sanchez. Furthermore, with several football pundits proclaiming that Arsenal are now genuine title contenders, this was an opportunity for the Gunners to cement those claims, while Mourinho would relish the chance to pour  cold water on Wenger’s title aspirations.

Mourinho has already shown himself to be extremely worried about the challenge from North London, attempting to goad Wenger in recent weeks with ridiculous comments regarding Arsenal’s spending, and as full time approached on Sunday, his face was a picture. The Gunners are coming and he knows it.

There was more nonsense from Mourinho in the post-match press conference as he tried to deflect the attention from his own side, proclaiming Arsenal had left their football philosophy in the dressing room and essentially parked the bus. This was somewhat rich from the man who has sent his team out at the Emirates on numerous occasions, with no intent to attack, just to sit back and grind out a 0-0 draw. It was interesting how the self-proclaimed “special one” couldn’t find a way to break down a side seemingly employing those tactics.

Meaningless friendly or not, there was no doubt that this result hurt Mourinho. For a start he had to endure watching his former goalkeeper celebrating with his new teammates. The same goalkeeper Mourinho absolutely didn’t want to see transferred to a direct rival, but was overruled by the Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic. In addition, the man Mourinho wanted from Arsenal as part of the Petr Cech deal, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, showed the Portuguese just what he is missing, with the winning goal. It seems Mourinho isn’t getting his own way anymore.

For Arsenal and Wenger, while retaining the Community Shield doesn’t represent much at the end of the day, the result is a big boost. There is no doubting that Mourinho and Chelsea had a certain hold over Arsenal as every time the two faced each other, the media would remind the Gunners how many games it had been without a win. That is now over. The players have overcome that hurdle and now the next time they play each other, those in red and white will have the confidence of knowing they have beaten the opposition before.

Despite Mourinho’s comments, this wasn’t a case of Arsenal snatching a goal against the run of play and hanging on desperately to steal a result they didn’t deserve. From the very first minute, the Gunners took the game to Chelsea, with Theo Walcott, starting up front once again at Wembley, chasing the ball down and dispossessing Matic in the opening seconds. Although Walcott didn’t appear to have many touches of the ball, he did play a crucial role, offering a different option to Giroud. While the Frenchman is somewhat static, Walcott’s constant movement caused Chelsea’s centre backs endless problems, moving them out of position and creating space for Arsenal’s attacking midfielders to exploit. It was this movement that created the space for the winning goal. As Walcott dropped deep, the Chelsea central defenders didn’t know whether to move up towards him or stay back. This hesitation allowed Walcott the space to receive the ball on the edge of the box and pick out Oxlade-Chamberlain with a perfectly weighted pass. From then on, Oxlade-Chamberlain did the rest, cutting inside Azpilicueta before powering a left foot finish right into the top corner of the goal.

The stage was now set. The onus was on Chelsea to send players forward in search of an equaliser, while Arsenal could sit back and hit their opponents on the break. Why Mourinho expected anything different is a mystery. With Francis Coquelin in defensive midfield, screening the back four beautifully and Petr Cech exuding the calmness that comes with his vast experience and stature in the game, the back four were extremely comfortable as Chelsea struggled to create any genuine goal scoring opportunities. In fact Cech’s only save of the game came from a free kick.

At the other end however, Arsenal’s slick counter attacking game was causing problems as the Gunners created the better opportunities and could have sealed victory by a greater margin. Giroud sent the ball over the bar, when he should have done better, before Cazorla and Kieran Gibbs failed to convert when one on one with the goalkeeper and Aaron Ramsey was unfortunate to see a deflected effort sail just wide of the post.

Arsene Wenger must have taken great satisfaction from ending the hoodoo that Mourinho seemed to have over him, but the Frenchman knows that the hard work starts now. This upcoming Premier League season promises to be the most difficult in history with no easy games whatsoever. Every match will be a battle and the Gunners will have to earn the right to play their own game. The tough tackling and tenacious Coquelin is now crucial to Arsenal and Wenger should really look to add another defensive midfielder to cover any injuries or suspensions he may face. Given their fine end to the previous campaign, their second successive FA Cup win and encouraging pre-season, the Gunners will head into the new season full of confidence. Furthermore, players such as Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain are all due a big season. Essentially if Arsenal can get off to a good start, they will have the perfect platform to mount a serious title challenge. There is no doubt that the belief amongst the squad is growing, the time has arrived to deliver.