A look at five lessons learned from Arsenal’s 1-0 Community Shield win over Chelsea on Sunday, with the traditional season curtain-raiser perhaps providing us with a preview of what’s in store in the season ahead…
1) It could be a big season from Oxlade-Chamberlain
Continuing what has been a fine pre-season so far, Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain struck a superb first-half winner to decide the outcome of this game. The England international, still only 21, has long looked like an exciting talent failing to fulfill his potential, but it’s easy to remember quite how young he still is and how quickly he became a member of the Arsenal first-team when he joined as a teenager from Southampton.
Now hopefully over his injury problems and growing in confidence after a run in the team in recent weeks, Oxlade-Chamberlain showed yesterday that he can be a big-game player for the club, and his form in attack could give Arsene Wenger’s side a whole new dimension to their game, with the youngster providing a little more width, pace and directness than players like Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla in that area.
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2) Willian surely set to keep his place
Despite Chelsea making what looked like a hugely promising signing in January in the form of Juan Cuadrado, it looks like Willian’s place on the Blues’ right flank will not be under threat anytime soon. The solid and hard-working Brazilian may not be everybody’s cup of tea due to his lack of real flair and poor scoring record for an attacking midfielder, but he was one of his side’s better performers yesterday as he again started out wide ahead of Cuadrado.
Showing some neat footwork and creative play, it may be that the mere presence of Cuadrado could encourage Willian to vary his game a bit more, and after two seasons of setting in in English football, maybe we’ll see the best of the former Anzhi Makhachkala man in 2015/16.
3) Arsenal DO need a new striker
In Arsenal’s previous game at Wembley, Theo Walcott gave a masterclass display up front as he scored the opener and generally impressed in the Gunners’ 4-0 FA Cup final victory over Aston Villa. Against Chelsea yesterday, however, he was kept much quieter and couldn’t really impose himself against centre-backs of John Terry and Gary Cahill’s quality.
Later in the game, Olivier Giroud came on off the bench and also made minimal impact, suggesting Arsenal do still need to bring in a genuinely world class centre-forward. It can be a little premature to take big conclusions from what is essentially a friendly, but Wenger should be slightly concerned that his side may continue to struggle to break down the big teams this season if they don’t bring in a player like Karim Benzema, which, according to the London Evening Standard, the Gunners boss does not look like doing.
4) Chelsea striker situation also a concern
Chelsea could also have some worries up front this season, with Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao sharing the duties in the Arsenal game due to Diego Costa not being fully fit. Like so many times last season, the Spanish international’s physical presence and goal threat were missed by Jose Mourinho’s side as they looked a little blunt in attack. Remy worked hard but was caught offside far too often, and if last season is anything to go by, the Frenchman is little more than a backup player to punish the smaller clubs, with only two of his nine goals coming against what one would consider ‘big-name’ opposition – against Tottenham and Manchester City.
It is worth noting too, of course, that Remy also struggled with injuries. Falcao also looked unfit and off form in his loan spell at Manchester United, suggesting Chelsea could at times be in the nightmare situation of not really having any fit enough strikers in their ranks, and that’s before we question the overall quality of Remy and Falcao as alternatives to Costa.
5) Petr Cech looks a superb signing
Marking his Arsenal debut with a win and a clean sheet against his old club, Petr Cech looked rock solid at the back for the Gunners in this morale-boosting victory. The Czech Republic international made some fine saves to keep Chelsea out, and gave Arsenal a rare win over their rivals, who usually have no trouble scoring against them and their previously fragile defence. Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker may have their critics, but they will feel a lot more confident and assured at the back with the presence of such a fine shot-stopper and commanding leader behind them.