Three reasons Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea matters

Now that the dust has settled and the smoke has cleared, it’s time we examine just how significant yesterday’s Community Shield win is for Arsenal. For all its glitz and glamour, the shield is still very much a friendly, with Per Mertesacker saying though the result goes some way to instilling confidence, it “says absolutely nothing.” Most would tend to agree with Per, as last season’s result will attest to. Arsenal comfortably dispatched of then champions City before going on to a lacklustre start to the league campaign.

Goes to show how quickly fortunes can change in football. Still, there is a sense that things are different this time around. Arsenal are a year stronger and wiser, as has been evident by their sensational preseason form. The improved maturity and discipline is clear to see, as the side look much more committed and focused than in recent years.

Regardless of the overall importance of the shield, beating Chelsea was massively important for Arsenal. Have a look at three reasons why.

Curse broken

Before yesterday, Arsenal failed to beat Chelsea since October 29th, 2011. They failed to score on Chelsea since January 20th, 2013, and Arsene Wenger failed to beat Jose Mourinho in 13 attempts. All of those streaks were shattered yesterday and the “Chelsea curse” has finally been lifted. Friendly or not, beating Chelsea is a massive relief and weight of our shoulders and a fantastic confidence booster going into the season. It demonstrates first hand that Arsenal is a force to be reckoned with and deserve our place among England and Europe’s elite. Arsenal always had the potential to beat Chelsea, now we know we can. There is a big difference, and the lads will feed off of it. Pipping them to silverware of any sort is a stepping stone, and the dejection on the faces of the Chelsea players afterwards proves it.

Winner’s circle

Winning is contagious, and with yesterday’s result Arsenal take their preseason record to a perfect 5 wins and 0 losses. The gunners outscored their opponents an impressive 15-1 en route to 3 trophies. If that isn’t a perfect foundation from which to start the season I don’t know what is, and the confidence should be sky high in the Arsenal camp at the moment. The squad is in good form, good spirit, and good health for the most part, and the win will only add to that. Coming off the back of last year’s FA Cup triumph as well, and Arsenal have both ended and begun a season with silverware. The appetite should be thoroughly whetted by now if it wasn’t already.

Gut Cech

Yesterday marked Cech’s official debut, and a first test for our new back line against a real football giant. Cech was brought in mainly for times like this, in the hopes that his experience and expertise would help see us through, and it did just that yesterday. He proved how important he will be to us, and what a difference a world class keeper makes. He made a huge save right when we needed it most, and marshaled the back line in front of him throughout the match. His presence seems to really calm the lads, knowing they are in good hands between the sticks, and you can feel Cech will be hugely influential for us this season.