With the Community Shield kicking-off on Sunday afternoon, it is exactly ten years since Arsenal and Chelsea last squared off against each other in the competition.
The Community Shield was hosted one last time in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on 7th of August 2005, Premier League champions Chelsea took on FA Cup winners Arsenal, who had beaten Manchester United on penalties in the final in May. Chelsea started the match with a full-strength side, compared to Arsenal inexperienced midfield of Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas, and the experience helped as Chelsea took an early lead with Didier Drogba scoring within ten minutes. The Ivorian scored a second 10 minutes after half-time to make it 2-0 before Fabregas grabbed one back for the Gunners to set up a nervy finish. Chelsea eventually ran out 2-1 winners, but where is that Arsenal side now?
Jens Lehmann:
The German stopper eventually lost his place in the Arsenal squad after a poor start to the season in 2007 to Manuel Almunia. He had a brief spell back at the club in 2011 with a two year spell at Stuttgart in between. The Invincible 'keeper had initially retired in 2010 when his Stuttgart contract expired, but he was convinced to join Arsenal briefly on an emergency loan before retiring again in the summer of 2011. The German now works for Sky Germany as a pundit.
Kolo Toure:
Kolo Toure was one of many Arsenal players to leave the club in 2009 to join the Manchester City revolution. Part of the Invincible squad, Toure was a favourite with the fans. However, following a bust up with club captain William Gallas, the Ivorian felt he was being pushed out of the squad.
The defender went on to enjoy much success with Manchester City, winning the Premier League and FA Cup while making over 100 appearances. Toure eventually left the Citzens to join Liverpool on a free transfer in the summer of 2013, yet he could not keep up the kind of performances he showed while at Arsenal and has seen his chances in the squad limited with only 28 appearances over his two seasons on Merseyside. He was only ever expected to be a utility player, and that is exactly what he has been.
Lauren:
A versatile full-back, the Cameroonian international made 159 Premier League appearances for the Gunners in which he won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the Community Shield twice. Following a series of serious knee injuries, Lauren eventually lost his place in the squad to Emmanuel Eboue and left Arsenal for Portsmouth in 2007, he would go on to win the FA Cup in 2008.
His last appearance in England was in the 2008 Community Shield as a late substitute, he retired in 2010 following a brief stint in Spain for Cordoba. Lauren now resides in Spain, he has made several appearances alongside Guillem Balagué on Sky Sports' La Liga programme and he was also a ITV4 pundit during their coverage of the 1012 Africa Cup of Nations.
Philippe Senderos:
At fault for both goals in the 2005 Community Shield after losing out to Drogba, Senderos would go on to have a shaky career for Arsenal. In subsequent matches against Chelsea, it appeared as though Drogba would target the young Swiss player as he was a weaker point in the Arsenal defence. Senderos made 84 league appearances for Arsenal and was on the clubs books for six years.
Following tow loan moves to both AC Milan and Everton respectively, Senderos was eventually sold to Fulham, however he was made to wait six months before making an appearance as he tore his achilles tendon while training. Senderos is still plying his trade in the Premier League, he is currently with Aston Villa and formed a brief partnership with Ron Vlaar before another injury denied him his place in the team. Senderos is a former winner of the Community shield, winning it with Arsenal in 2004.
Ashley Cole:
A man who joined his boyhood club and made his first team debut at 18, Cole is regarded as one of the best left-backs ever to play for Arsenal. However, following his departure from the club in acrimonious circumstances, the England full-back is now known as “Cashely Cole” following his apparent anger at Arsenal only offering him £55,000 per week. Cole went on to win several trophies with Chelsea, including the Champions League in 2012. He now plays for AS Roma in Serie A after leaving Chelsea on a free transfer. His last Community Shield win was in 2009 for Chelsea over Manchester United on penalties.
Freddie Ljungberg:
A Community Shield regular, Ljungberg won the shield three times with Arsenal, the last coming in 2004. He eventually left the club at the age of 30 and went on to join West Ham United. The Hammers were criticised for taking on a player with such a huge wage bill with the midfielder reportedly offered £3 million to tear up his contract. This rumour was quickly dismissed by Ljungberg.
After a short hiatus from football, he went on to join MLS clubs Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire in 2009 and 2010, a brief spell at Celtic was followed three years playing football in Asia. Ljungberg is now an ambassador for Arsenal and has said he is “honored to take on this ambassadorial role”.
Cesc Fabregas:
Fabregas was the fan favourite of every Arsenal fan, earning the captains armband in 2008 at the age of 21 showed his dedication to the club. However, that dedication did not last much longer as the Spanish midfielder rejoined his boyhood team Barcelona after one of the longest and most protracted transfers in history. Fabregas bought out his contract with the North London club to force a move to Spain, a transfer that earned Arsenal £35 million.
Despite winning countless trophies with Barcelona, including the UEFA Super Cup in his first month with the club, Fabregas felt he could never hold down a starting spot in the team with the likes of Xavi and Iniesta in central midfield. Allegedly turned down by Arsene Wenger, Cesc returned to the Premier League with Chelsea and has once again become one of the top midfielders in the country. Fabregas has gone on to win both the League Cup and the Premier League with the Blues and will line up against his former team this Sunday. Fabregas previously won the Community shield in 2004 with Arsenal.
Mathieu Flamini:
The only surviving player still in the Arsenal squad, Flamini has won the Community Shield twice with Arsenal, in 2004 and most recently in 2014. Flamini forged a partnership with Fabregas during the 2008 season in midfield, which saw Arsenal lose out on the Premier League by just four points.
The Frenchman left the Gunners for AC Milan on a free transfer in the summer of 2008 and went on to win Serie A in 2011. He returned to Arsenal in the summer of 2013 and has made 68 league appearances since. With the rise of Francis Coquelin, Flamini has seen first team opportunities limited as of late, however he is looking to make it a hat-trick of Community Shields on Sunday at Wembley.
Robert Pires:
The World Cup winning winger is regarded as an Arsenal great, winning two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and two Community Shields. Pires made 189 league appearances for Arsenal, scoring 62 goals in the process. Pires went on to enjoy a four year stay at Villarreal following his contract expiring at Arsenal; he made 103 appearances for the Spanish side, scoring 13 goals.
Robert returned to England briefly join Aston Villa, he made nine league for the Midlands club including one against Arsenal at Villa Park. Following his retirement after being released by Aston Villa, Pires made a brief return to promote the Indian Premier League by joining FC Goa in 2014. He made eight appearances for the club scoring one goal. He was released by the club in March 2015.
Dennis Bergkamp:
The non-flying Dutchman joined Arsenal in 1995 and is rated as one of the greatest ever Premier League players. The striker enjoyed countless success with the Gunners by winning three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and three Community Shields. Bergkamp went on to form a key partnership with Thierry Henry and was influential in Arsenal going the 2004 season unbeaten. Bergkamp retired at Arsenal in 2006 after the Champions League final and he was given a testimonial at the Emirates Stadium, the first match in the new stadium.
Bergkamp is now the assistant manager at Ajax in Holland and has been touted as a future Arsenal manager. In 2007 Bergkamp was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, the only Dutch player to receive this honour so far. In 2014, Arsenal revealed a statue of Bergkamp outside the Emirates Stadium in honour of his time at the club.
Thierry Henry:
The club's all time top goal scorer, Henry is one of the greatest Premier League strikers of all time and is Arsenal’s leading goal scorer with 228 goals in all competitions. Henry joined Arsenal in 1999 and would go on to win two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and two Community Shields.
Henry left Arsenal in the summer of 2007 to join Barcelona, he would go on to win two La Liga titles and the Champions League in 2009. Henry was announced as a New York Red Bulls player in July 2010, a marquee signing for the MLS, he went on to make 122 appearances for the American side scoring 51 goals. Following a brief loan spell back at Arsenal in 2012, Henry retired at the Red Bulls in 2014. Thierry now works as a pundit for Sky Sports joining former players such as Alan Smith, and Gary Neville.