Arsenal end Chelsea jinx by clinching Community Shield

Arsenal and Arsene Wenger ended their Chelsea, and specifically Jose Mourinho-managed Blues, curse in some style with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Wembley, a ground which has become incredibly fruitful for the Gunners recently, to snatch the Community Shield.

Beginning their season as they ended the last, by lifting a trophy, the north Londoners defeated their capital rivals for the first time in nine clashes across all competitions. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s scorcher also spectacularly stopped a five-game goal drought against Chelsea, and was a strike deserving of silverware.

As expected, the Blues and Gunners began this tussle with trepidation, taking small jabs at each other to suss out the strengths and weaknesses that had developed over pre-season, though Arsenal looked by far the more aggressive and energetic.

It took Wenger’s men until the 22nd minute to truly trouble their London foes, as Theo Walcott, taking centre stage and leading a fluid forward line with Olivier Giroud benched for yet another cup clash, headed Mesut Ozil’s set piece straight at Thibaut Courtois.

Yet placid Chelsea should have taken notice of that flicker of threatening forward play as, just moments later, an electric Oxlade-Chamberlain, fed intelligently by Walcott who came deep to collect, danced his way into the box past an unusually indecisive Caeser Azpilicueta and thumped a fantastic finish into the top left corner.

Supporters in the stadium hoping for a swift reaction from Mourinho’s boys would have been disappointed, as Chelsea continued to toil, lacking attacking expression and urgency. The Blues finally brightened around the 30th minute mark, however, seeing two chances spurned in quick succession.

A quiet Eden Hazard fluffed hard working Brazilian wing wizard Willian’s work down the right flank, before compatriot Ramires curled a shot wide past Petr Cech who, perhaps disconcertingly for his former teammates, had little to do while manning the Gunners’ posts.