Arsene Wenger must now target the Premier League title after breaking Jose Mourinho hoodoo
by Jack Kitson / 03 August 2015, 09:32Tweet
After ending his painful 13 game winless streak against fierce rival Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger will now be gunning to smash another hoodoo: winning the Premier League title for the first time since 2003/04.
The eagerly anticipated 2015/16 campaign is now just days away, with Arsenal's Community Shield win against Chelsea perfectly stoking the fire ahead of the dawn of what promises to be a compelling campaign in the top-tier of English football.
Burden Lifted
Wenger and his troops headed into Sunday's Community Shield match-up against Chelsea brimming with confidence following a superb pre-season, during which they had hoisted both the Barclays Asia Trophy and the Emirates Cup. However, the build-up to the crunch clash had, unsurprisingly, been dominated by the Frenchman's unsavoury record against Mourinho, which read at: 13 matches, zero wins.
Over the years the bitter rivals have been embroiled in a catalogue of squabbles and disputes, plus the odd comic playground touchline tussle. Mourinho has, seemingly, reveled in winding up Wenger, who only had six draws to his name from the 13 previous encounters between the duo.
This obstacle was finally overcome at the weekend after Arsenal edged a tight encounter 1-0, courtesy of a scorching 24th minute strike from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Wenger was coolness personified after the match, but the 65-year-old will no doubt be ecstatic at hammering down this barrier, which had been blocking his path since 2004.
Premier League Title Pursuit
Arsenal, who have accumulated four trophies since May, will now be targeting Premier League glory. Defending champions Chelsea remain the 7/4 (Coral) favourites at the summit of the betting market, but there will no doubt have been a hefty amount of bets placed on the 9/2 (Ladbrokes) Gunners following Sunday's victory.
Meanwhile, Man City are sandwiched in between the duo at 3/1 (Betfred), whereas Man Utd have been handed odds of 11/2 (Ladbrokes) to win their first title since the glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson.
