Wenger breaks Mourinho hoodoo as Arsenal beat Chelsea to win Community Shield

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the winner for as Arsenal beat Chelsea

Arsene Wenger finally managed to beat Jose Mourinho at the fourteenth attempt as Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 to win the Community Shield. Wenger broke the hoodoo after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s strike helped Arsenal secure the title for the second straight season.

Loic Remy started in place of Diego Costa for Chelsea who was not fit to start the match while Arsene Wenger chose to play Theo Walcott as centre-forward ahead of Olivier Giroud. The game started at a slow tempo and the two teams were involved in a midfield battle with Chelsea sitting back and Arsenal finding it difficult to find their passing game going.

Arsenal finally managed to break the deadlock in the 24th minute after Mesut Ozil who was playing on the left found Theo Walcott. The forward collected the pass and found an unmarked Chamberlain on the right wing.

The winger picked up the pass before cutting inside and beat Cesar Azpilicueta by shifting the ball and unleashed an unstoppable drive into the top corner past Thibaut Courtois. Chelsea who had to chase the game dominated possession from then on and should have equalized in the 36th minute when Remy sent in a teasing cross into the box which was headed wide off the post by Ramires.

At the other end, Arsenal had a brilliant chance to extend their lead after a counter-attack move just ahead of half-time. The Arsenal players shared some intricate passes before Chamberlain who looked lively throughout the match ran through the wing and dinked in a teasing cross into the box which was cleared by Branislav Ivanovic.

Chelsea dominates the game

Jose Mourinho decided to make a change at the start of the second half by bringing on Radamel Falcao for Remy. Chelsea started the second half stronger by pegging Arsenal back as the Blues dominated possession and looked to find a breakthrough.

Mourinho decided to make another change as he brought on Oscar in place of Ramires as Chelsea kept pressing Arsenal for an equalizer. Chelsea had a glorious chance to equalize when Cesc Fabregas played a defense-splitting pass to Hazard who found himself one-on-one with the Cech.

The Belgian who was PFA Player of the Year in 2014/15 season got his shot horribly wrong as he skied his shot well over the bar. Azpilicueta received the first booking of the match after he pulled Chamberlain up by tugging on his jersey when the winger was breaking clear of the Spaniard.

Arsenal made their first change of the match in the 65th minute after Giroud came on for Walcott. Coquelin received a yellow card in the 67 minute for a foul on Hazard right outside the box. Oscar took the free-kick and got in on target only to be punched away by the former Chelsea goalkeeper.

Arsenal made their second change after the goalscorer Chamberlain was replaced by Mikel Arteta in the 77th minute of the game. Chelsea kept on pressing and bombed forward as Arsenal were on the back foot. The Arsenal defence desperately kept clearing the balls away as Chelsea kept coming at them.

Chelsea made their last change of the game after Victor Moses replaced John Terry while Ozil who had a forgettable day was replaced by Kieran Gibbs. Arsenal had a brilliant chance to extend their lead after Ramsey embarked on a counter attack. The Welshman found an unmarked Cazorla who shot straight at Courtois.

Tempers flared towards the end of the game as Arsenal players kept going into tackles and kept conceding free-kicks as they couldn’t contain Chelsea. In the end, Arsenal held on as Arsene Wenger finally managed to get one over his bitter rival Jose Mourinho ahead of the season.