Although he may not have come out and said it, you just know that Arsene Wenger would absolutely love to have seen his Arsenal side record a first win against his managerial rival Jose Mourinho, even though the Frenchman admitted after the game that all three points would still not have been enough for the Gunners to win the Premier League title this season.
But you can bet that Wenger and the players will feel a little bit better about the next time we face Mourinho and his team, which will hopefully be in the Community Shield at the start of next season. That will mean that Arsenal have retained the FA cup and are ready to push on and really challenge for the title.
We may not have been able to beat Chelsea this season but at least we did not lose today and can claim to have been the better side. And we have beaten all the other big teams to show a real improvement from last season. Wenger spoke about that previous naivety in the big games and suggested that it may have curtailed our attacking potency a little today and I cannot argue with that.
The boss also spoke about how well we defended and that should stand us in good stead for the next encounter. A defeat today would have been damaging but a draw allows us to move on and finish the season strongly, ensuring an improvement in our league position and another trophy to celebrate.
Rome wasn’t built in a day so I think we should appreciate just how far the Gunners and Wenger’s tactics have come this season. As long as the improvement continues then we should be alright, but will next year see an Arsenal that can be strong enough throughout the season to become champions?
Onwards and Upwards!