Arsenal Win 2015 Community Shield By Beating Chelsea

FA Cup holders Arsenal won the Community Shield for a second season in a row as they beat Premier League champions Chelsea at Wembley. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the winner with a powerful drive into the top corner with his weaker left foot. Ramires headed wide unmarked from Loic Remy’s cross as Chelsea failed to hit the target before the break. Eden Hazard skied a chance over the bar before Oscar’s free-kick was parried wide by Arsenal debutant Peter Cech. It was the first time the former Chelsea goalkeeper had been called into action after 68 minutes and soon after he comfortably held on to Kurt Zouma’s header.

Arsenal went close late on through Santi Cazorla and Kieran Gibbs in a match where both sides looked rusty a week ahead of their Premier League opener. Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fires Gunners to Community Shield win at Wembley and ends Jose Mourinho’s hoodoo over Arsene Wenger on Petr Cech’s debut. Finally, after 14 attempts, Arsene Wenger has sussed this Chelsea side out. Jose Mourinho’s team is good, but they are not that good. The mental block, the psychological edge that Mourinho played upon during the numerous childish exchanges, asides and squabbles down the years has just been stripped away. What better place, what grander stage to do it than Wembley, a week ahead of the opening fixtures in the Barclays Premier League. Arsenal had to work for this, protecting a first-half lead given to them after a belting goal from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain by eventually chugging their way to victory against the champions.

This is not the Thierry Henry vintage of 2004 at Arsenal, the pomp of the Dennis Bergkamp team that won the domestic Double in 1998 and again in 2002. But it is coming together nicely. Chelsea were made to look ordinary and functional, a side that looks as though the improvisation and clever skills of their match-winning players has finally been coached out of them. They looked average. Wembley is Arsenal’s home now, winning successive FA Cup semi-finals, FA Cup finals and now Community Shields. They look the part. This was a triumph for their expansive first-half football, playing fast and loose in the final third of the field with the game full of runs from Theo Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Ozil, as ever, provided the intelligence to this team.

Happy 39th Birthday To Me

Today I started the final year of my 30s. How did this happen? The pact I have with the Devil and the numerous virgins I sacrificed in his name has not worked I see! Nothing I can do will stop the march into the dreaded….sigh…….40s!

Battling a cold, and it also changing for hot & humid to rainy & cold, I did not feel like going out today. Instead I stayed at home alone till 4pm. I woke up, made coffee, went to the store for a few things, made a large duck’s egg omelette with onions and green peppers and toasted bread for my breakfast. More coffee, some music and Youtube filled up my morning. Evening will be more coffee then dinner, that I am ordering in, with my parents, sister and her kids and I will wash them down with some Bacardi white rum and coke. A quiet day in.

I look at the years gone by, wondering where they went. I think of all the regrets and mistakes that I have made (quite a few actually) and think of all the “if onlys” and the “perhaps” and a few “why didn’t Is”. All the quiet thoughts of a lonely guy who had good intentions but was never quite up to the challenge. Damage is done, I’ve made my bed and I’ll in it.

Happy birthday to me. Whoever you are, wherever you are reading this post from, raise a glass to me please!