Arsene Wenger finally broke his winless run against Jose Mourinho at the 14th attempt as the Gunners secured back-to-back Community Shield victories. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain put Arsenal ahead midway through the first half and although Chelsea enjoyed more possession during the second period, they could not find a way past a resolute opposition defence.
Despite being considered a pre-season fixture by many, Arsenal’s win will no doubt give them immense confidence heading into the new season as they aim to topple Chelsea and secure their first title since the Invincibles of 2003-04.
Outside90’s Nick Amies takes a look at the best performances on both sides of the pitch.
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois – 6.5: Made some smart saves towards the end, but made a few errors with the ball at his feet.
Branislav Ivanovic – 6.5: Provided an attacking option from defence, but aside from a wayward header rarely contributed anything of note.
Gary Cahill – 6: Made a few crucial interventions, but struggled with Arsenal’s quick passing and later Giroud’s physicality.
John Terry – 6: Made little impact upon the game and was pulled early as Mourinho pushed for a result.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 5: Struggled with the combined efforts of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Bellerin down his side of the field.
Nemanja Matic – 6: Was not at his imposing best, often left chasing the shadows of Cazorla and Ozil.
Cesc Fabregas – 5: Aside from one dangerous through-ball to Hazard, the former Arsenal captain looked well off the pace.
Ramires – 6.5: Contributed a lot of energy and physicality to the match, but should have scored with a first-half header.
Willian – 7: Always looked to be Chelsea’s most dangerous player, making darting runs all across the attacking third.
Eden Hazard – 6: Unusually quiet match from last season’s player of the year.
Loic Remy – 5: Pulled at half-time after failing to cope with Arsenal’s offside trap.
Substitutes:
Radamel Falcao – 5: Equally as ineffective as Remy was in the first half.
Oscar – 6: Challenged Pert Cech with a well-taken free-kick, but struggled to impose himself on the game.
Kurt Zouma – 5.5: Found it difficult to deal with Arsenal’s counter-attacks in the second half as his team committed men further forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t4tq9nWrhQ
Arsenal
Petr Cech – 7.5: Cool, calm and collected performance, what Arsenal has been needing for years.
Hector Bellerin – 7: Made some fine combination play with Oxlade-Chamberlain in attack and shut down Eden Hazard.
Per Mertesacker – 6.5: Still susceptible to pace, but was rarely caught out as Chelsea pushed forward for an equaliser.
Laurent Koscielny – 8: The rock of the Arsenal defence. Whenever there appeared to be danger, Koscielny was on hand to clean things up.
Nacho Monreal – 7: Always a willing supporter of his side’s attacks and defended well.
Francis Coquelin – 7.5: Continued to show his importance to Arsenal’s play with another tireless performance in the middle.
Santi Cazorla – 7: Dictated the tempo of Arsenal’s play with his fine distribution, but should have scored in the second half to seal the game.
Aaron Ramsey – 7: A solid performance from the Welshman, but still not playing at the level he is capable of reaching.
Mesut Ozil – 7: Made some fine touches and passes, but did make some poor turnovers that allowed Chelsea counter-attacking options.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 8: Was always a threat on the right flank with his pace and direct running, took his goal well.
Theo Walcott – 6: Struggled to make an impact up front, finding space hard to come by.
Substitutes
Olivier Giroud – 6.5: Found some good space when he came on for Walcott, but should have tested Courtois at least one.
Mikel Arteta – 6: Came off the bench, made some tackles and didn’t get injured. Good return performance from the former captain.
Kieran Gibbs – N/A: Played the final ten minutes, spurned a good chance to score late on.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
