1) Oxlade-Chamberlain ends the wait in style

Arsenal’s drought against Chelsea is over. They had not scored against the champions since José Mourinho’s return to England two years ago and also suffered the ignominy of that 6-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge, but the miserable run was finally ended at Wembley. And what a superb winner it was from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, a player who has struggled to stay fit in the past two seasons, an injury always seeming to crop up just when he is hitting a rich vein of form. Found by Theo Walcott, who was rightly preferred over Olivier Giroud up front, Oxlade-Chamberlain cut inside from the right and gave Thibaut Courtois no chance with a rising drive which offered a reminder of the winger’s vast talent. Could this be his season?

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2) Chelsea turn to graft of Ramires

One conundrum for Chelsea is that Cesc Fàbregas’s lack of defensive nous sometimes meant that Nemanja Matic had too many gaps to fill in the middle last season and Mourinho had that in mind here. He was wary of Arsenal’s creative threat and so Fàbregas was moved forward into the No10 role, leaving Ramires to graft alongside Matic. Yet the shift had the effect of lessening the control that Fàbregas provides when he starts in a deeper position and he found it difficult to influence the game there. Mourinho had to tweak his formation, Fàbregas dropping back and Ramires moving to the right, but Chelsea laboured even after Oscar’s introduction. There is an argument that they need another midfielder who can win the ball and use it astutely, especially on the big European nights.

3) Cech enjoys impressive debut

There was a Petr Cech love-in when Arsenal’s new goalkeeper showed that he was not bitter about his departure from Chelsea by sportingly kicking the ball out of play after Fàbregas was winded by a collision with Per Mertesacker. The applause from the Chelsea fans behind Cech’s goal was warm, although it was the Arsenal fans who crowed when he made a magnificent save from Oscar’s free-kick in the second half. Goalkeeper has been a problem position for Arsenal ever since Jens Lehmann was dropped in 2007, but Arsène Wenger has surely struck gold by signing Cech. Accepting that David Ospina, who was preferred over Wojciech Szczesny in the second half of last season, is not good enough is a sign that Wenger is ready to be ruthless in his quest for the Premier League title.

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4) Rémy fails to impress as lone striker

Another problem for Chelsea was that they were missing Diego Costa, who felt pain in his troublesome hamstring in last week’s friendly against Barcelona. Costa’s fitness problems are a source of concern. His 20 goals and unapologetically robust style of play were vital last season and although Loïc Rémy is an accomplished striker, he is not in Costa’s elite class. This was an opportunity for Rémy to soothe Mourinho’s anxiety about Costa. However he was easily contained by Laurent Koscielny and Mertesacker – admittedly the service to him was poor – and he was caught offside on too many occasions. Mourinho’s response was to remove Rémy at half-time. Yet his replacement, Radamel Falcao, was also off the pace and did little to suggest that his forgettable loan spell at Manchester United was just a blip.

5) Arsenal grow in stature

Arsenal’s thrashing of Manchester City in last year’s Community Shield meant nothing once they had drawn two of their first three league matches, which left them locked in a futile pursuit of Chelsea from the start. Wenger knows that there cannot be a slow start this time. Mourinho’s sides are relentless frontrunners. Yet Arsenal have not looked this settled or sounded this confident for a long time. Retaining the FA Cup has enhanced their belief and there was a purpose to their play. They were determined not to let go of their lead against their bogey team and winning without Alexis Sánchez made this triumph more impressive. A glorified friendly, perhaps, but a significant day for Wenger. After 11 years and 14 attempts, he has finally got the better of Mourinho.