Arsenal vs Chelsea. Community Shield. 02/08/15, 15:00.

[Niall_Quinn]

It's the most significant match of the season so far, so that's more than enough. Plus it's a football match we are playing in. So it has paramount importance and it's imperative we win. Plus it's against the chavs, the team we'll have to beat to win the title. It's hard to underestimate the importance of this game as a step in a sequence to finally challenging and coming out on top. The chavs won't take it lightly and if Wenger does then he's negligent.

At some point we ghave to start beating this lot and then we have to keep on beating them. That's how the title will be won. Not fucking up against a hopeless Utd. Going into games against the chavs with an expectation of winning and then doing it. Taking care of the matches against the lower teams withou fucking it up. Solid, professional performances in Europe and an absence of those stupid Wenger fiascos as soon as the heat is turned up to lukewarm.

You don't pick and choose your wins. You win everything and that way you can't be beaten. Of course the other teams will have that philosophy too (if they are sportsmen) and not everyone can win. But sure as hell you'll lose and lose well if you go into any game thinking it's not important or significant. This has been one of Wenger's biggest failings, especially in Europe. He needs to sort it out this season and so do any players or fans who are happy with anything less than 100% all the time.

Huge match so let's win it and go from there.

[Kano]

This whole 'it's only a friendly, it doesn't matter' thing is like a comfort blanket to cling to, living in expectation that we probably won't win the game because we are playing Chelsea. A cop-out excuse. When that is exactly the reason this is such an important game ahead of a season where Wenger is going to forgo getting in the striker we need and bolstering our midfield. Time to prove to us then that this team has enough about it.

He has never beaten Maureen, the best has been just measly draws and it is a terrible record that needs to be rectified in any game and the sooner the better. The season starts here for the teams involved and as MO said earlier, Maureen won't be taking this game lightly, he'll be looking to put Wenger back in his shell as early as possible so he can crow from up high. He's a despicable cunt but he gets the art of winning and the nuances involved in building momentum.

If we lose on the weekend, we aren't just going to roll-up against them in the Prem and magically turn it on. We could win ten in a row against a bunch of shit kickers beforehand but that confidence will shoot straight out the players arses then minute they hit the field against the Chavs. If Wenger see's it as 'only a friendly' then he really is cooked. I'm presuming he gets the importance of the game given his ongoing talk of building confidence and how often he says we are lacking it in games. No room for fuck ups if this squad are serious about being successful.

[Letters]

We won it last year, therefore beat the defending champions, and then got off to an awful start
I see the importance psychologically of beating Maureen, but I don't buy the result has much implication for where the title will end up. History shows there's no real correlation.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I'm with Letters. Will winning this change anybody's opinion about where we are or our ability to win the league? Honest question....

[Kano]

And that's the big point - Mourinho. No one could care less about what the cup is but beating that guy has to start as soon as possible. It can't be underestimated, especially when our manager has never achieved it. That is a massive hurdle to overcome for the managers, players and the fans. If you have the chance to take the exact same test paper outside of test conditions you wouldn't take a lackadaisical approach, you'd want to nail it so it becomes easier next time. Chelsea will be the club to overcome if we are serious about the title and that begins by beating them in a competitive game. We need to believe we can beat every team in this league, that's how you win the title. And this will be a competitive game. Maureen will see to that, even if we don't.

How confident is any fan when we play Chelsea? We know the drill by now and the most likely outcome. Everyone in and around the team has to believe we can go for the title and that occurs through momentum and breaking through psychological barriers. This is the first one. Beat Mourinho and give him and Chelsea something to worry about when it comes to us because right now they are at the opposite end of the scale compared to us when we play these games. We have become their Tottenham.

[Letters]

We do need to get the Maureen monkey off our back, definitely agree with that.

[Static]

What time is kick off for this one?

Coverage starts at 3 so like half 3 or 4?

[Letters]

I'm with Letters. Will winning this change anybody's opinion about where we are or our ability to win the league? Honest question....

Knowing this place, if we lose people will see it as proof positive we can't win it, if we win people will dismiss it as a friendly

[Dein-machine]

Knowing this place, if we lose people will see it as proof positive we can't win it, if we win people will dismiss it as a friendly

What do you see it as if we win? - as you've said in your previous posts, we beat City last year in this but that never resulted in us having a title crack. Proof needs evidence. The evidence that we can all see is that Wenger can't win the league.

[Kano]

I'm with Letters. Will winning this change anybody's opinion about where we are or our ability to win the league? Honest question....

There are two answers for this, one for the fans, the other for the personnel involved.

As a fan, I don't think our manager can sustain a whole season getting the best out of our squad, something will always go wrong now. Us beating Chelsea won't completely turn my opinion around but it will certainly help and give me something to think about.

But for those involved inside the club it should be different. You would assume they want to and believe they can win the title. So from their perspective the real season starts on Sunday, by putting one over a big rival. Beating Chelsea should confirm their already strong belief. They will know that as fans we are fickle and should be big enough to ignore that - in the short term anyway. Whatever we believe in terms of the teams capabilities will help build a larger sense of belief around the club of course but ultimately it starts inside the club and on the pitch first.