Arsenal v Chelsea: The One With No Handshake (at Wembley)

Every good thing must come to an end - as does any significant run in football. Jose Mourinho boasted an infamous record against best mate Arsene Wenger, but it couldn’t go on forever. Of course the proverbial monkey was lifted off of Wenger’s back in arguably the most Arsenal way ever - in a pre-season match that counts for little more than a few days of bragging rights. It only took 14 tries, so well done and all that.

Chelsea are good at many things. The Charity Community Shield is not one of them. Including Sunday’s trip to Wembley, Chelsea have lost in 5 of their last 6 attempts at starting the season with a glorified plate. David Moyes won it for United, and we all know how well that turned out. The match and result mattered far more to the Arsenal fans who turned up in their best Benzema shirts and Petr Cech helmets to mark the occasion. No really.
The biggest challenge Sunday afternoon was hearing Petr Cech’s name read out. This will take a bit of a lot of getting used to. With the sun shining at the other end of the pitch, Arsenal opted to switch sides in order for the light to burn through Thibaut Courtois’ retinas straight through his very soul. Annoying as the disadvantage was, it did allow Cech to trot down to the Chelsea end and get a reception that he’s more than worthy of. Maybe next time don’t be so quick with the free-kick saves Pete.

So how did Chelsea miss out on Big Plate glory? Jose Mourinho didn’t exactly take things opting for the dad on a school run look. A tracksuit manager he is not. A man who's coat actually hangs in the museum should not be at Wembley in trackie bottoms. This is what he wears at training and it inadvertangly becomes a subconscious message to the players to take the game as seriously as they do in training.

Mourinho shakes hands with each Arsenal player but he & Wenger ignore each other + JM throws medal in crowd #cfc #afc pic.twitter.com/TYyO5GCJLg

— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) August 2, 2015

Arsenal had clearly done their homework and watched Chelsea’s other pre-season friendlies. I’m not saying Cesar Azpilicueta has been the weak link and at fault for more than a couple goals this summer, but there’s a reason that most of Arsenal’s attacks came from that side. Or they may have wanted to give the vice-captain a swerve. Subbing him for Kurt Zouma was the right move on the day - but obviously too little too late. The damage had been done so it was about damage limitation.

That being said, it should not take anything away from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's goal which was a fantastic strike. The irony of course is, he is definitely the player that Chelsea should have demanded before relinquishing Cech. He'd fit perfectly into this Chelsea side and is defesively aware enough to keep Mourinho happy.

The bigger concern than a minor defensive wobble was that ostensibly Chelsea played without a striker. I’m not sure if a summer in the US affected Loïc Remy's understanding of the offside rule or that it had ever existed in the first place but he didn't look acquainted with it in those opening 45 minutes. Someone also failed to tell Remy that he was meant to be leading the line yesterday rather than flirting with the touchline. A shot would not have gone amiss either.

Remy was left on the bench for the second half while Rui Faria hopefully reacquanted him with the concept of offisde. Remy's departure saw Chelsea press on in the second half without a striker. The fantastically quaffed Falcao made his way onto the pitch like the show pony that he is. Safe to assume that he didn't make any of the game's highlight reels. But not to worry, after the game Mourinho reassured the Chelsea faithful “[Falcao] is not just a striker that scores goals, he contributes a lot more to the game.” So there is that to look forward to while Diego Costa’s hamstrings decide when they’ll be available. This was the first time that Chelsea have failed to score in their 14 games at new Wembley.

A summer of rest seems to have done Chelsea's big(ger) Serbian a world of good. He had started to show signs of fatigue towards the end of last season. But yesterday he was the bright spark in the team and was essentially everywhere on the pitch. Ramires' missed header was disappointed, but good to see him wth a chance.

But we all know the real highlight of yesterday was handshake gate part 215679. After tossing his runner's up medal into the crowd, Mourinho positioned himself so that the Arsenal players and staff could not miss him. He shook hands, he tossled hair. He blanked Wenger. Or Wenger blanked him. Either way they didn't shake hands and it's all anyone could talk about. Further highlighting just how important Big Plate competition is.
 


jb xx