Arsenal kick-off their competitive season with a game against Chelsea in the Community Shield on Sunday. The two title rivals will contend at Wembley, a ground where Arsenal are undefeated in six.
Key Men
Arsenal: Mesut Ozil
Ozil makes things tick for Arsenal and he has looked very sharp in pre-season. The German will play in his favored number 10 role and will want to prove to the doubters that he can perform in the big games. His creativity means he is capable of making the decisive pass to make the difference in tight games like these.
Chelsea: Cesc Fabregas
Much like Ozil, if Fabregas is at his best then he’s hard to stop. He keeps things ticking in midfield and is capable of regular creativity from deep. Arsene Wenger knows only too well how effective the Spaniard can be. He made the difference in his first game against Arsenal last season, with a defence splitting pass to find Diego Costa and Mourinho will hope he can produce something like that again.
Likely Approach:
I think Chelsea will be as usual, conservative in their attacking approach. They will look to frustrate Arsenal throughout. Mourinho, no matter what he says publicly will not want to lose to Wenger – it will hurt him to lose his brilliant record. Arsenal will perhaps not be as attacking as usual, but I think they’ll be confident in their football and take the positives from the end of last season. Arsenal almost see Wembley as a second home at the moment, so I think they won’t play with the handbrake on. I expect Arsenal to start faster and score in the first half. Then it will be interesting to see how Arsenal have a go at defending a lead against a Chelsea side who always want the first goal.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
I think Arsenal will probably be more up for this one. The Gunners want to get one over on Chelsea and Wenger one over on Mourinho. I think this could finally be the day that Wenger gets his win over the self-proclaimed ‘special one’. Arsenal have a fully fit team and are on the back of an impressive pre-season.