Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the only goal in a tame curtain-raiser at Wembley, ensuring Arsène Wenger has beaten José Mourinho for the first time in 14 attempts.
It has taken 14 attempts, spread over 11 years, and in the most difficult moments Arsène Wenger has looked as if he would cheerfully throttle José Mourinho with his own tie, but finally Arsenal’s manager knows what it feels like to get one over his bete noire. It has been a long time coming and, psychologically, it should do them the power of good to break a run that has hurt Wenger far more than he would probably confess.
His team played without any sense of inferiority, which has not always been the case when these sides meet, and it was no surprise to see Mourinho tossing his medal into the crowd afterwards, even if he did direct it towards a young Arsenal fan rather than a supporter of his own team. Mourinho doesn’t even keep all his winner’s medals so there was no way he wanted a souvenir of a game when Chelsea played with so much carelessness there were only passing reminders they were here as Premier League champions.
It was a strangely subdued performance from Mourinho’s team and the Chelsea manager was stretching the truth when he said that the better side had been beaten. It was true, as he pointed out, that Wenger’s side sacrificed some of their attacking instincts during the second period. That, however, was just common sense after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had speared a wonderful shot into the top corner of Thibaut Courtois’ net and Arsenal, operating on the counterattack, should be commended for playing with a streetwise edge. Far too often that has been exactly what they have lacked.
The decisive moment arrived midway through the opening half and, to put it into context, it was the first time Arsenal had scored against these opponents in 506 minutes of play. Arsenal had not even led against Chelsea since October 2011 but they passed the ball with the greater incision and fluency in the opening 45 minutes and it was a wonderful finish from Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The move started on the left but Mesut Özil’s crossfield pass changed the direction of the attack. Theo Walcott moved it out to Oxlade-Chamberlain on the right and, turning inside César Azpilicueta, his left-foot shot was still rising as it flashed past Courtois.
Mourinho could reflect on the moment later in the first half when Loïc Rémy clipped in a beautifully weighted cross to pick out Ramires six yards from goal. Ramires overlooked the first rule in those positions to head the ball downwards, turning it over the crossbar, and on the far touchline an aggrieved Mourinho could be seen gesturing how it should have been done.
His changes at half-time, not only withdrawing Rémy but switching Ramires, Fàbregas and Willian into different positions, were another sign of his discontent but Chelsea continued to make the kind of basic errors that, if we are going to be generous, smacked of pre-season rustiness. Fàbregas had a chance late on to send a free-kick into the penalty area but did not even get it past the first man. Soon afterwards, Branislav Ivanovic played the ball back to Courtois and the goalkeeper miscontrolled it, conceding a corner.
Hazard has rarely been so ineffectual and Chelsea plainly have problems in attack if the injury issues that prematurely ended Diego Costa’s involvement last season are going to trouble him again. Costa’s fragile hamstring ruled him out here and Rémy was taken off after a first half in which he strayed into offside territory on four occasions. Radamel Falcao was given the second half to impress but if the Colombian is to reinvent himself as a grade-A centre-forward there was little evidence of it on this showing.
For Arsenal, the issue is whether Wenger persists with Walcott in attack at the expense of Olivier Giroud. Walcott was the one Arsenal player who disappointed even if it was his pass that contributed to the goal. Giroud replaced him midway through the second half and in the closing exchanges he and Santi Cazorla both had chances to extend the lead. Courtois denied them both but there was still plenty to encourage Arsenal’s followers, one of whom now carries a little red box containing a medal Mourinho does not want to see again.
source: theguardian.com
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 