Football: Questions abound as Arsenal's fans rejoice

Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey, second right, scores under pressure from Manchester City's Gael Clichy. Photo / AP

In keeping with the fabled timetable of London buses, Arsenal fans waited nine years for a trophy and then two come along in quick succession.

"Arsenal will need a new trophy cabinet," screamed the Wembley DJ as the FA Cup winners swept to an emphatic Community Shield win over Manchester City, the champions who seemed totally uninterested.

Arsenal supporters will rightly enjoy this but will not get carried away.

In a game also notable for the introduction of vanishing spray and City's disappearing defence, the victory was still undeniably impressive and Arsenal supporters were in jubilant mood as they celebrated goals from Santi Cazorla, the outstanding Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud.

They also derived pleasure from the contributions of Arsene Wenger's summer signings, namely the finesse of Alexis Sanchez, strong signs of Calum Chambers' potential at centre-half, and a busy display from Mathieu Debuchy at right-back.

A truer assessment of Arsenal's ability to last the marathon assault course that is the Premier League must wait for another day.

How will Sanchez fare against a defence more obdurate than one possessing Dedryk Boyata at its heart? How will Chambers combat the movement of the likes of Sergio Aguero? How will Debuchy deal with a wide player like Eden Hazard?

Do Arsenal need another centre-forward or should Wenger keep faith in Yaya Sanogo as understudy to Giroud? Is another centre-half still required despite Wenger suggesting that Chambers and Nacho Monreal could deputise for the first-choice right-left combination of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny?

How will Arsenal handle Chelsea and the power of Diego Costa, the guile of Cesc Fabregas and a resolute defence organised by John Terry? How will they deal with the pace of Liverpool's Raheem Sterling?

So many questions. What can be said with some conviction is that Arsenal boast deeper reserves of talent and belief than for a decade.

And, a lovely conundrum this, how on Earth is Wenger going to juggle his myriad options in the creative department behind Giroud? He now has Sanchez along with Cazorla, Ramsey, comfortably the best player on the pitch with his passing and moving, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with Theo Walcott still to return from injury.

Enough questions. This should not alter radically the season's title odds, with City and Chelsea deserved favourites, but it will have another, improving effect on Arsenal's confidence. The most uplifting memory Arsenal fans will take away from Wembley is that they answered the questions posed them in this one-sided game. Mikel Arteta, the new club captain after Thomas Vermaelen has been sold, anchored midfield, allowing Jack Wilshere to push on, linking with Sanchez and company.

England's outgoing captain, Steven Gerrard, had indicated a year ago that Wilshere could be his successor. Wilshere was particularly looking to seize this opportunity, after a difficult summer in Manaus, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Las Vegas.

Roy Hodgson had planned to attend Wembley, assessing the three English players starting, but was held up in a three-hour traffic jam en route from his central London home and eventually gave up, turning round and watching the game on television.

London traffic? Who'd have guessed?