Supporters from both Arsenal & Chelsea seem to be dismissing the importance of this game either through fear or general disinterest.
For me this game has a lot of importance to it, not that I think it will be defining to either side’s season as we won comfortably last year then got off to a slow start in the league but there are factors that will count massively for us.
The statistics that are made from this game are recorded for part of the season. It’s a game between the winners of the most desirable trophies in English football.
Beating City last time round felt really good!
I really want victory in this game because it signifies some things for the upcoming season. Whether Jose pretends to dismiss the importance or not there is absolutely no way on earth he won’t mind losing, he will certainly take it seriously and so should we.
A win for us will count as Wenger’s first competitive victory over Jose Mourinho and once that hoodoo is dealt with the belief of winning the title automatically grows. You can’t really be completely confident if you’re proven to be incapable of beating the defending champions and this needs to be ended before the official season begins.
A positive is that there has to be a winner, so Jose can’t even play for a draw (as he always does against us away from home) unless he has the utmost confident in his potential penalty takers.
What ruins the flow and pattern of this game is the allowance of multiple substitutions. It makes it come across more as a friendly. I’d like to see The FA change this to give more respect to this fixture. Also the name isn’t fancy enough ‘Community/Charity Shield’ unlike the ‘Spanish Super Cup’ which is more glorified and even has 2 legs to it whilst the qualifications are similar.
Coquelin is always prepared to get stuck in – especially against tougher teams
Ahead of the game tomorrow I’d like to see us start with a strong side and one Arsene intends to start the league campaign with.
A big decision will be who will start centrally between Ramsey and Cazorla I wouldn’t be surprised if he went with both but I don’t like how we function without Coquelin to be perfectly honest, especially against tougher opponents.
I’d like The Ox to start in Alexis’ place, as I said last week he’s the only other player that really gives defenders constant trouble by running at them, he’s also proven to be one of our bigger game players. There’s a chance Wilshere could start wide and if Arsene wants to continue utilising a creative player out there then Jack is a more suitable option than Ramsey and Cazorla.
Giroud vs Walcott will be interesting maybe they both start but Theo’s most recent competitive performances in that position warrants him the chance to resume his form. I’d like to see us try something different as Giroud has had 3 years in the role now and is yet to convince fully.
Alexis will be a miss but I actually think we’re a more fluid team without him although he’s our star man, he tends to slow play down and hog the ball for too long. I have nothing against it since we need that type of player in a side like ours but I’m curios to see how fluid we look in his absence.
Chelsea’s greatest ever keeper finally joins a great club
An early mental test for Cech against the club where he ranks No. 1 goalkeeper in their entire history (the little of it they have). It won’t be as emotional as when he returns to Stamford Bridge but nevertheless we get an early chance to scope his mental strength.
I will be watching this game anxiously hoping for victory and if we do lose…. well, pretend I didn’t write this and dub it a meaningless game 😉
I am Subomi. An Arsenal supporter throughout my lifetime currently in my early 20’s. I am a graduate of West London’s Met Film School and an aspiring screenwriter. I do like to write about various topics that interest me and that tends to swing towards matters concerning Arsenal, it’s a passion of mine.
I was born and raised in North London, moved out to Essex but I am now back in North London for university of course.
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