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Arsenal v Chelsea review – Gunners come from behind to win on penalties!!

When I saw the Arsenal and Chelsea teams selected for this Community Shield clash by Arsene Wenger and Antonio Conte I was a bit concerned, as we seemed to be missing a lot more key players than our opponents. Before the game we knew that Chelsea would be without Hazard, Costa and Bakayoke while Arsenal would not have Cazorla, Wilshere or Mustafi, but other Gunners not in the squad included Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez so it was always going to be a tough one for us to win.

Having said that the Gunners started well and looked the most likely for the majority of the first half, with chances falling to Alex Iwobi and others, but it was the new boy Lacazette, playing through the middle, that came closest to scoring.

He dropped deep to start a m,ove which only the woodwork stopped him from finishing with the opener after some nifty footwork and a curling shot had Chelsea and Courtois beaten. Mertesacker was forced off with a head injury just before the half hour mark and was replaced by Kolasinac who continued to look a threat.

Chelsea got stronger as the half wore on though and had a few chances of their own, but they were rightfully denied a chance from the penalty spot when the ref booked Willian for diving instead of buying his attempt to have Bellerin penalised.

So it was all to play for at the break but unfortunately for Arsenal we did not seem ready to go after the restart, and Moses took full advantage of some sloppy defending to pounce for the opener straight away. They nearly made it two before we woke up as well, but as the half wore on chances kept coming for the Gunners and the new boy Kolasinac finally made one pay.

His header came from an excellent Xhaka free kick but there was also controversy as Pedro saw a straight red for his studs up challenge on Elneny. Maybe harsh in this sort of game but it was a nasty one. Arsenal then looked to make the most of our extra man but despite some good chances Chelsea held firm and it went to a penalty shootout, which was done with the new ABBA format.

Cahille scored the first but Arsenal scored every one of ours with Walcott, Monreal, the Ox and Giroud so after Courtois and Morata both missed completely the Gunners take the spoils and inflict another Wembley defeat on Chelsea. Happy days Gooners!!!

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    1. He’s was great towards end of last season and looked very confident today. He looks much more comfoRTable and is finally using his full passing range

    2. Xhaka, Elneny, Iwobi, Laca, Welbeck Montreal and saed looked good.

      I really prefer elneny to ramsey again’t strong opposition. Elneny is a better passer, keeps possession better and knows his position.

      Ramsey Wil leave xhaka alone. We will have Sanchez, Theo , OG and Ramsey all playing down the middle lol.

      1. There’s a song down here in Nigeria that people love listening to… it’s yoruba, it say OTI GBA PENALTY WOH THROWING?? Meaning : HE PLAYED A PENALTY KICK TO THROWING?… not even goal kick, i mean how can a player be that bad??. I was so happy when Morata played wide, the whole fans here, including Manchester united and Barca fans all supported Arsenal, all started singing it and yelling at the chelsea fans here… Right now the song is on repeat on my phone??

        2. I am Nigerian and I throughly understand what you are saying. But what was Courtois doing talking a penalty when Chelsea still had lots of players available!

          1. In naija, you’d understand this too… “too much senrere” serves them well, so they can come up with excuses saying, they missed out on some key players, or a goal keeper took a penalty.

            after all it was a goalie vs another goalie..

    3. We have different opinions. I think:

      – Chamberlain looked lost as a left wingback. Arsenal should have used a natural left-footed wingback or winger there.

      – Bellerin is getting worse, there is no way Barcelona is interested in him. Currently Chamberlain is better than him in the right wingback position.

      – Elneny played very well. If he gets more chances as a starter in this season, he can improve more.

      – Xhaka produced nothing special, apart from the set-pieces assist.

      – Kolasinac was really agressive, like Mustafi. I predict there will be more goals coming from his head, like what Branislav Ivanovic did for Chelsea.

      – Lacazette showed some nice skills. I think he will be a great asset soon.

      1. Bellerin was terrible going forward. Ox much better on the right but got shafted by Wenger who played him out of position.

      2. Xhaka produced nothing special?? which game did you watch?? Who controlled the tempo of the game each time the ball was with us?? Elneny was good, simple passes as usual but Xhaka was the boss bro

    5. xhaka Sead and Elneny all exceptional
      but for god sake can we get someone from 3rd league in Myanmar to replace walcott?

    6. You people , We struggle to beat a second choice Chelsea team without Hazard, Bakayo and an inform Marata and you people rejoicing. Chelsea is currently weaker than Man city, Man United, Liverpool and Spurs and you guys here rejoicing about an insignificant trophy. We need an effective winger, welbeck looked stupid Walcott even worse.

      2. Chelsea selections are their problems. Arsenal can only play what is representing against them on the field.

  4. We definitely need signings. Glad for Seo, great goal, great debut. I have a good feeling about Xhaka this season he is picking up form. Iwobi still needs end product same with Welbz. Midfielder and attacker still needed. Bellerin… poor game. Want the old Hector back. Delighted for the confidence boost this game provided before we started the season.

    1. More excited about him than Laca tbh.
      Watched a few of his games last season, he a beast for sure and about time we had one.

    2. What an absolute steal, he may end up being the best free transfer ever for ARSENAL

      Surely one of the best in the world in his position, so happy he have in in our dear team.

  6. Thought we did so well in the first half. Laca lacked services but hit the woodwork. Glad new signing scored the equaliser. Courtois thought He was about taking a goal kick. LOL

    So Arsenal bagged two trophies in less than 8days (Emirates Cup and Community Shield)…..Ok, come and beat me. I am in my great-grandmother private Jet. #PunIntended.

    1. Laca did nothing wrong but it’s games like this all you ozil haters go quiet. Kante was their best player but Fabregas almost won it for them on a few occasions. If Ozil was playing it would have been 3-1. Missing Sanchez hurt us but that was effectively countered by them missing hazard.
      Oh, and Laca >>> Morata on that evidence

      1. Agree about Ozil, but we have to remember he doesn’t always turn up and there’s no guarantee he would’ve today. Like so many Arsenal players he lack consistency, even though his quality is undeniable.

        1. Ozil is a different type of player to be used to feed the forwards and pass the opposition into submission and thus encouraged to roam at will.

          Using him to “show-up” English style with heavy feet undermines his talent.

          So please make up your mind about the style we want to play, do not blame the player. I am a fan of the Arsenal style: pure football, zero thuggery.

          1. It has nothing to do with his physicality. UCL games you don’t need physicality and he fails to show up in many. Stop putting words in my mouth just because I don’t think Ozil is perfect. No player is, everyone has their pros and cons, and Ozil’s is his consistency and you have to be blind not to admit that.

      2. I am an Ozil hater and I will say why I hate Ozil, Ozil is not a goal threat which would allow other attackers more space, Ozil job is not only to assist but also to score goals, he drops out of sight when placed under pressure, does not provide the team with a lift in dire moments(for our so called big player) and only concentrate on team defence for a few minutes.

        i was excited when there were 3 forwards which I called runners up front, who could press Chelsea’s defence in the earlier part of the game and counter quickly, Oxil hardly press opponents and slows down counters. Now some believe that Ozil would have provided Laca with more assist, i really do not know if that would be the case, because from pre-season Ozil only provided him with one opportunity to score.

        I would hope for Ozil to be sold, but since i know that will not happen, do not use Ozil when we against the top six, because they will not give him any space and basically we would be playing with one man short.

  7. Even if we had lost the game. I swear i’m impressed With the way we played without our creative midfielders. Kolasinac more to come for you, Lacazette better luck next time. Xhaka Don’t you get injured!! Don’t you dare think of it. We played well without OZIL, RAMSEY, SANCHEZ N COQ!!

    COYG!!

    1. Look I am not a Ramsey fan but the the idea we have the kind of midfield in xhaka and elneny to challenge at the top is absurd … Either we bring a powerhouse or a creator … I prefer the latter but without one or the other we will not control the middle against top teams … Seri is the obvious choice with carzola and wilshere both questionable over the season

      Less worried about defence holding will be a quality player with more game time and kolasanic will add real strength … So with kos and mustafi and Monreal seems to me we could let Gabriel go

      Lacazette is a positive step forward if we keep Alexis there should be goals aplenty from them … But the whippet giroud and welbeck is insufficient and 2 of them can go if we bring in lemar or equivalent … With the whippet a must sell

  9. Great win for THE ARSENAL.Highly motivating and morale boosting victory in context that we came from behind against the epl champions(never mind they were down to 10).Great spirit and hard work on display from the team simply never gave up and fought till the very end.What the hell was courtois doing there ???Anyway fuck of chelski and coutrtoise it is all about the gunners now.One thing though,we need to improve by a fair amount if we want to win the epl.JUST ENJOY THE VICTORY FOR NOW.OUR 9TH CONSECUTIVE AT WEMBLEY STADIUM.That is some record……..??

  10. Nice win, it seems we never lose at wembley. And it seems we have chelsea’s number at the moment. Kolasinac is a beast.

  11. Nice game nice win coyg!!!!
    Hehe i loved that. I think bellerin needs to learn how to cross the ball how will we win games when our wingers and fullbacks return the ball backwards instead of crossing

  12. Good win, i was very happy especially to prove to our own “fans” (!) that team isn’t so laughable as the media would like us to believe,
    Supporters should first of all be supporters when its matchday.. you can be critics/haters on any other day..

    2. you said the same thing after this event in 2014 … and again in 2015 … then last year we didnt actually win anything but we added xhaka so lets get behind the team like wat a “true” fan does… unlike others on this site who dont really know anything about footie like me even though ive been wrong about our chances for the last 10 seasons it dont matter coz i’m a real fan and wenger is a great bloke who knows about footie whereas all these negative fans dont know nuffin… its like listening to some demented uncle every xmas droning on about how things were better in the old days when everyone knew their place….

  13. This was without Koscielny, Alexis, Ramsey, Özil, Mustafi… Always feels good getting one over Chelsea, especially after that pre-season result. They must of thought they had this in the bag today. Let’s take this momentum into the Leicester game.

      2. But he didnt play so whats your point ? Just need something to moan about

        I bet you wished Arsenal had lost so you would have something to say !

      3. @NC
        how did you know that for sure?
        Ramsey has and gives us good memory in cup games. He scored in a couple of occasions in recent past

  14. Im so tired of Walcot. The last 10min shows how useless he was. We need instant upgrade on a winger. Lamer anyone?

    1. Lemar isn’t going to happen, but agree we need someone else in that position. If we get nobody then I wouldn’t be upset to see Reiss Nelson get a chance there.

      1. Nelson is impressive for a 17yo but he need more game time

        Lemar deal is unlikely to happen but nobody knows

        Kev = Resources is still adamant that the deal is on

        It has been weeks

        1. I agree. He shouldn’t start every game but Aresnal need to start developing Nelson early. He has loads of potential and I’d rather see him play then give time to someone like Walcott who hasn’t brought us close to the title. You never know when these young players will shine. Every year a few teenagers just take the game by storm. And I just think Lemar is unlikely because it has dragged on all summer, and we never get players we negotiate a long time with.

    3. Arsenal needs an attacking midfielder that can beat the opponents, creative, works hard, able to possess the ball longer to wait for better chances and has good skills to keep the ball.

      It is definitely not Walcott, Lemar and Barkley. I believe Iwobi can fill in the role if he gets more chances as a starter. Otherwise Arsenal should chase Ousmane Dembele and Jadon Sancho.

      1. Iwobi.

        This might be his break-out season. He will likely be extended again and earn closer to 50K/wk. He is becoming tenacious and making intelligent runs and passes.

        However, that does not mean his position cannot be upgraded with a 26-28 old in his prime.

        Lemar would be unproven in England, but maybe a prodigy. We might never know.

    4. Want to upgrade Walcot – the best goals per minute player of last season!?

      Where’s the logic of that?

  18. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE JUST GET BEHIND THEM AND WE BE FINE. WHAT ABOUT ELNENYS 90MINS PRETTY USEFUL PLAYER FAR AS I SEE. WELL DON WELBZ ANOTHER FINE PERFORMANCE AND MAN MOUNTAIN KOLASINAC SEEMS HE HIT D GROUND RUNNIN. AN ALLROUND A STELLA PERFORMANCE

    1. Hope he can send Hazard flying too…

      Bakayoko is injured and couldnt play….he will make a big difference in Chelsea’s midfield

  21. And we won! Even though it is just a community shield I am just glad I didn’t have to have be sad! And seeing all the players that didn’t play showing off their sunglasses was the extra topping! Nice

  22. I will take win on penalties lol
    Hey, a win is a win 🙂
    And a win against our premier league and London rivals is always special
    Two finals in a row against Chelsea

    Kolsanic is my MOTM

  23. Best part of the game was Kolasinac. The man is a beast and reminds me of when we had man playing the game for us.

    2. Yeah loved seeing chelsea players of all people bouncing off him. man is a tough sob and has some serious pace.

  24. A lot of players missing for us as well, makes the win even sweeter! Got to start doing it in the league now, and we still need 2/3 new players. I hope Wenger doesn’t think his squad is good enough after this win though?

  25. Its only a friendly but a good morale booster for a win

    We must not be complacent cause it will be a different Chelsea when we face them in the league

    The players from both teams are rusty and lack game fitness

    there is still heaps of room for improvement

    positive signs in Eleney and Kosinac

    Ox over dribbles

    Walcott needs to go…hes a waste of time

  26. Hands up I criticised wenger but I’ll say well done boys on the win
    Positives
    Lacca
    Sead
    Xhaka
    Iwobi
    All looked great
    Negatives
    Welbeck lacks technical ability that won’t change
    Nelson deserves a start
    Walcott is frustrating
    Belerin I’m not sure what’s happened to him
    Elneny isn’t good enough however today he worked his socks off and defensively he did very well

    I really hope wenger adds a CM

    Where was ozil ?

  27. Up the gunners, funny how no one has mentioned our goalie who apart from the Chelsea goal had a good game, he looked like he has lost some weight or is fitter at least than he was last season, I expect him to have a much better season this time round.

  28. ALEXIS SANCHEZ refused to lift the sheild in a straightforward manner.Don’t know whether it is because he wants to win something more big or just he is not interested in afc anymore.

    1. Sanchez wants to leave and his action tells alot

      If hes forced to stay, he will sulk and show disinterest just like Mahrez

      Ox should be sold if he doesnt want to sign a new deal….Nelson and Iwobi can play in his position

      Ozil will stay and leave at the end of the season for free as no clubs wants to buy him

    2. I’m done with Sanchez either sign or FO, if he’s with us fine if not let’s sign a replacement and a CM and let’s go, we may not spend the most money but with th right attitude we can do better than last season

    3. You body language experts see whatever you want to see. AS could have thrown another sickie, he didn’t have to come on the pitch, he didn’t have to acknowledge the crowd. AS was embarrassed to lift the plate because he has a touch of humility (not like Terry) – he never played or contributed and he knew lifting it was not appropriate. Jeez, it is embarrassing enough to lift it if you played – it is one “trophy” you do not want to be seen to be too excited over.

    4. He is an idiot and he need to get out of of club now. Take your stinking attitude and get out mate!

  29. Now we need to get more serious because Leicester is up next. We need a good start to the season

    Also more signings please

  30. Kolasinac the hulk it looked like he alone will take down all Che player.today enjoyed the game. Xhaka long range effort was good need to take few chances like that. Sometimes ox looks lost what to do next he still can’t figure out when to pass when to dribble. Good game by arsenal.

    1. looked a lot less comfortable on LW. He cant cross as often and can’t create as much space for himself. Hopefully Wenger sacrifices Bellerin in that position, who hasn’t impressed. Hector simply must work harder to get his position back, because right now he isn’t good enough to start.

  31. I reckon if we’d gone into this game having signed the current players and one quality creative mf player sanchez may sign up, he still might.

    Elneny was good today, ox at times looked to me like he’s not too interested in wearing the cannon anymore kolasinac is a beast and adds steel to our sqaud him and xhaka will enjoy roughing a few up this year. Lacazette worked hard and could have scored.
    Good performance especially with Ramsey ozil sanchez kos cazorla chambers Gabriel and mustafi all out

  32. I don’t know if it was that Chelsea were poor but Xhaka and Elneny completely bossed that midfield. If both can get shooting boots on, that would be a great partnership right there.

  35. Mou counted this trophy as part of his 3 trophies last season… We have started well…. Now gunners shake up for the league and another FA…

    I rejoice and dance in advance

  37. In general a good performance from the team. Xhaka and Kolasinac played particularly well. Lacazette looked sharp. Cech, Monreal, Holding and Elneny all played well. Iwobi played well but I want him to shoot more and really take games by the scruff of the neck because he has so much talent. Welbeck worked tirelessly as usual but is lacking that real bit of quality in attacking positions. Chamberlain looked uncomfortable on the left side, wanted him to swap with Bellerin because Bellerin couldn’t get past Alonso all game. Really think Bellerin needs to up his game- he didn’t track Moses for their goal and was poor offensively, he looked lost on the ball. Overall a good rehearsal for the start of the season.

  38. Nice game, even if we had lost would have been proud of the team and how they played. Let us take a look

    Forwards
    Iwobi showed he is a strong young man he has the capability to go by opponents with ease, needs to improve on his composure, did some good work in the middle of the part occupying Fabregas and starting attacks.

    Welbeck made some good runs but refuse to use his left foot to shoot or to pass the ball, needs to improve in that area, will give defences problem running through the middle, had good link up play with Laca.

    Laca is gradually loosening up and will become a lot more accustom with the players around him in more games.

    Midfielders
    Elneny had a superb game, showed mobility up and down the field, was confident passing the ball out of defence , i thought he was the MOTM, but nothing wrong with the other candidates getting it. (Hulk or Monreal)

    Xhaka distribution was great, still, needs a little more zip, but was quite control in his play, one season of football under his belt has been good for him

    Defence
    Bellerin still looks rusty, good going forward but final ball still needs work, hopefully, will improve during the season

    Holding little errors, but really growing in stature, can only get better with game time, was only troubled by Pedro’s pace at times.

    Mert was his usual controlled self and had the beating of Chelsea’s’ strikers, unfortunately, got injured while contesting a high ball in the box, with the latter elbow catching between the eyes.

    Monreal looks quite comfortable in both roles has the more left of the back three, and then the center of the back three when Mert was injured.

    Ox showed his quality in the runs he made forward, had to be double teamed on many occasions, would rather see him on the right

    Kolasinac, the monster, the hulk, came on for the injured Mert and ran over anything in his way and to add to all of that got our equaliser with a towering header, trust me i would be tempted to put him in the forward position. A great capture for arsenal.

    Keeper a few saves

    Subs
    Walcott for Iwobi, Giroud for Laca and later down Nelson for Welbeck, Walcott had some sniffs, but otherwise nothing much in the last minutes.

    General comment the team played well without many players, i actually loved how the front 3 started and midfielders, as i said i thought Elneny have found a new gear, if he can carry this into the new season it would be great for arsenal.

  40. Lessons
    1 Xhaka-Elneny partnership may be profitable than Xhaka-Ramsey cos Ramsey practically leaves the midfield whereas Elneny stays put and breaks up play, allowing Xhaka the freedom to be a ball distributor.
    2 we have solid backup defenders in Per, holding and Monreal. But we need a defender to partner Kocielny and Mustaphi as first choices.
    3 Kolasinac is a beast and his effect will be more devastating if he plays as a wing back.
    4 Walcott has no place in the 3-4-2-1 formation. I think we can do without him. Replace him with Lemar or mahrez
    5 Lacazette will really turn out good. He has most of the ingredients.
    6 We will even be a lot better when Alexis, Ozil, Carzola, Koscielny and Mustaphi joins the team.

  42. Ot
    Congratulations to the 4 arsenal ladies that played for Holland today and won the Euros.
    Midema a good signing for next year.

    A good day to be an arsenal fan!

  43. Xhaka is a class art. MOTM for me.will be fantastic this season.
    nice win.but we shouldn’t be carried away.a lot of work to do.more quality signing. up Gunner.

  44. I wish Wallcot’s contract ends in January lol, i pLay better than theo during my local sunday football in the hood…. Saed is a Beast well welcomed, XHAKABOOM(looks to have settled after his first seson, hoping for a fire second season ?), Laca, Iwobi looking sharp ahead of new season. Ox is unpredictable, i like him.

    What makes the victory sweeter is the fact we played without Alexis, Mustafi, Kos & Ozil. Good depth in quality.

    Bellerin isnt so effective at wing back.
    Pls we need to sell wallcot asap & get a quality winger ( mahrez or lamar). #coyg

  45. Did anybody catch what iwobi did to Fabregas? It was like he was some kind of snake charmer or something 🙂 I couldn’t stop laughing at Fabregas chasing iwobi and didn’t have the legs to do it hahaha and then left him on the ground with fantastic footwork.

  47. Oooh man this kolasinac guy… Just incredible shows u dont have to spend big to get qulity.. Gud game arsenal c u on friday

  48. Look out for Elneny this year – he is going to surprise a lot of people. He was outstanding in pre-season too

  49. I do t think many agreed – but I suggested playing 2 defensive midfielders and sacrificing games against very top teams

    Admittedly I’d have done with Kolasinac and Xaka-

    But general point seems to be vindicated today. And pleased to see Wenger at least trying it

  50. even with a players which are not first choice,arsenal did really showed a great determination and performanc really had stamina and endurance ,.. for the 90 min to pressing on , and not giving a lot of space and chances for Chelsea to settle , going forwards creating chances looks dangerous around the goal .,and this was what arsenal team lacked before ,,.and Wenger has to continue strengthening,making every player a fighter ,especially trained for endurance which is a key for a press on games not to give a space and time for opponents to settle ,and with that if we signed a skillful winger and midfielder arsenal can challenge for the title.

    up gooners

  51. It is good to celebrate a win but we should not get carried away by this meaningless win. It has happened a few times before. My fear is that Wenger may feel the team is okay now.

  52. good win,good teamwork ,but am samhow doubting Sanchez professionalism,,,, he acts so childish which I think my affect the dressing room,,

  54. When I first saw Kolasinac, I was “yess! This the kind of players we talking about” He’s well built, any attacker would think twice before facing him. Imagine having some offensive players like that

  55. Elneny motm he is not tired from beginning to d end running, marking n passing. Followed by d game winners sead n Xhaka. Pls note, Lets support our team n d players, some didn’t play well today they will play well tomorrow, however, i am so happy, up gumners

  57. Like him or not but Elneny was MOTM and the one key player that dominated and made all the difference in midfield.

  58. All people who are rejoicing this victory, remember that Wenger had screwed up the team before start. Kolasinac was not part of starting 11,if it wasn’t for injury to bfg, he wouldn’t even have played .

  59. Can Arsene Wenger keep players such as Iwobi and Welbeck back after training for shooting practice please?

  60. For Friday game only an small but very important adjustment:R.wing back position to OX,Left Wing back for Kolasinac.Thes rest of the team should be kept.

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