Post-Match Report

Arsenal v Chelsea: How we saw the game

Chelsea -

Wembley Stadium
FA Community Shield
FA Community Shield
  Arsenal
      
                  S. Kolašinac (81)
            
   crest
Arsenal
S. Kolašinac (81)
1 1
  Chelsea
      
              V. Moses (46)
          
   crest
Chelsea
V. Moses (46)
Arsenal win 4-1 on penalties

Sead Kolasinac scored his first goal for the club on his Arsenal debut as we beat Chelsea on penalties to lift the Community Shield.

Victor Moses had given the Blues the lead right at the start of the second half with a sharp finish, before Sead Kolasinac equalised with a header on his debut.

But with no further goals, the game went to spot-kicks and Thiabaut Courtois the first to miss and then Alvaro Morata following suit for Antonio Conte’s side.

That left Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud with the chance to win it, and neither wasted their chance as we won 4-1 on penalties to lift the trophy.

We made a really sharp start and, with the sun once again shining down on Wembley as we snapped into tackles and passed it around slickly, it was hard not to think back to May 27, and that unforgettable Emirates FA Cup final.

Alex Iwobi has had a fine pre-season, and he picked up from where he left off in the opening exchanges, finding space in the area before firing in a powerful cross that just evades Alexandre Lacazette.

Iwobi was back at it again moments later, nearly breaking through again after slick way between him and Mohamed Elneny as we remained firmly on the front foot.

Our best chance of the first half came in the 22nd minute when Lacazette, a lively, impressive presence, span away from Marcos Alonso nby the halfway line and ran at pace towards goal.

The France international, Hector Bellerin and Danny Welbeck combined well, before the ball was returned to Lacazette to the left of the area, and his shot was curled beyond Courtois but rattled against the post.

A facial injury to Per Mertesacker, which ultimately saw the captain replaced by Sead Kolasinac, halted the game for a few minutes and somewhat took the momentum out of it – although Petr Cech had to be alert to deny Victor Moses and Pedro before the interval.

The game changed 44 seconds after the restart, as Chelsea took the lead when Moses reacted quickest to a ball headed back into the area, taking the ball down and beating Cech from close range.

We reacted smartly to this setback, with Elneny twice taking aim in quick succession, firstly with a shot that flew high and wide and then with a cross-cum-shot that Courtois had to palm over the bar.

With clock counting down, and Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott introduced off the bench, we tried to find a way back into the game – and came close when Granit Xhaka let fly from 30 yards, but his shot was tipped wide by Courtois.

There was a further twist though, when Pedro was given his marching orders for a late, raking tackle on the Achilles of Elneny – and from the resulting free kick we had the equaliser we deserved.

Xhaka, who had played a fine game, whipped in an inch-perfect ball and there was Kolasinac, in space and with time to pick his spot, and he made no mistake with a firm header into the bottom corner.

With the pendulum of the game having swung back in our favour, and with a man advantage, we pushed on in search of a winner – but to no avail, and on we went to penalties, using the ABBA system for the first time.

AS IT HAPPENED

Click here for our minute-by-minute coverage of all the action from Wembley.

BIG 17 WITH A BIG PERFORMANCE

6 – Iwobi wriggles his way past Azpilicueta and into the area, before pulling the ball back across goal but Lacazette cannot react quickly enough to convert it

10 – Iwobi plays a quick pass Elneny on the edge of the box and slips through into the box, but can’t quite control the return pass properly and Courtois is able to block hit shot

44 – Iwobi spins away from Fabregas and makes a driving run to the edge of the area, where he combines well with Oxlade-Chamberlain before taking aim with a low shot that Courtois saves

Alexi Iwobi

Alexi Iwobi

64 – Iwobi spins away into space down the right and races towards goal, before putting a low ball into the box towards Lacazette but Cahill gets a foot in to snuff out the danger

67 – Iwobi makes way for Theo Walcott, but not before receiving a roar of approval from the Arsenal fans

Attendance: 83325

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