The Community Shield. The traditional annual curtain-raiser for the new Premier League season. The league champions face the winners of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium for the chance to win that prestigious over-sized dinner plate. But, how prestigious is it, really? This has been a grey area discussed by many football fans every year. Reactions to a team winning the Shield usually seem to range from "They're going to win the league this season!" to "Yeah, they won a mickey mouse cup, it doesn't matter!". Now, my team, Arsenal, have won the Shield twice in a row now, as you all know, and I heard both sides of that reaction spectrum in my local after the final whistle was blown. While it pleased me to get one over Chelsea (especially Mourinho) and see my team looking sharp ahead of the new season, my mind always casts itself back to last year, when we beat Man City 3-0 to win the same prize, and then went on to finish 3rd while Man City finished above us in 2nd. Hence, that game did not foreshadow how the season would go, as some people sometimes believe. The point is, I as a Gooner am not getting carried away too much with winning the Shield, as I see the Community Shield as little more than a preseason trophy, like our Emirates Cup and the Barclays Asia Trophy. I do, however, feel that it is a fitting way to kickoff the new season and give the two teams a final dress rehearsal before the season begins.
So, what do you think?