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If Arsenal had been quicker to act, Petr Cech would have been lining up in the Gunners goal long ago.

Cech left Rennes to join Chelsea in 2004, but was also being tracked by Arsenal at the time.

“One of my assistants Boro Primorac has a son who was playing in Rennes and he had told us they had a very good goalkeeper. So we knew about him,” said Wenger. 

"Before he went to Chelsea we were interested and the guy who brought him to Chelsea, one of the agents, was a good friend of mine. He told me there was an exceptional keeper at Rennes. But I think Chelsea were a bit quicker than us.”

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For both Chelsea and Arsenal, this summer has been a quiet one transfers wise.

The Blues have brought in striker Radamel Falcao on loan and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic from Stoke, while Arsenal's sole purchase was Petr Cech from Chelsea for £10m.

Bold from Arsene Wenger, who has chosen to largely keep faith with the same set of players who finished third last year. Victory today would certainly go some way to vindicating his decision.

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We'll get to Chelsea's and Arsenal's transfer activity shortly (won't take long), but we've just cranked up a vote for you to get involved in: 

Who has been the best signing of the summer so far?

Make your choice from nine options (via the vote tab on mobile and app, on the right side of this page for desktop users) and we'll reveal the results at 14:30 BST.

Voting terms and conditions.

Do Chelsea have enough about them to successfully defend their Premier League title? Are Arsenal genuine contenders, or should they have spent more this summer?

While we are at it, why not send us your Premier League predictions? 1. Title winner 2. Top scorer 3. Surprise package.

Send in your thoughts via #bbcfootball,, external text in on 81111 (UK only) or post your views on the Match of the Day Facebook, external page.

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In the build-up to this game, Jose Mourinho suggested Arsenal and the rest of Chelsea's rivals are buying their way into title contention.

"If you put Mesut Ozil plus Alexis Sanchez, plus Calum Chambers, plus Mathieu Debuchy, you will find a surprise," he said, hinting at the Gunners' spending big in recent years.

In response Wenger, who spent £35m on forward Sanchez last summer and a club record £42.4m on playmaker Ozil in 2013, said: "We spend when we think we have to spend and do not listen to what people think or say."

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Hello!

Just 64 days after Arsenal ended the domestic season with a 4-0 FA Cup win over Aston Villa, it's time to go again.

The Gunners take on Chelsea at Wembley today in the traditional season curtain-raiser between the FA Cup winners and the league champions - the Community Shield.

It may not be the trophy that players dream about holding aloft as kids, but silverware is silverware and it offers the teams and managers involved the chance to claim some early bragging rights.

For Jose Mourinho, it has also presented the opportunity for him to sharpen up his mind-game playing skills, and he's wasted no time in that regard...

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Ahhh football. It has been a while.

Well, except for the Women's World Cup. Oh and the Copa America. And the copious amounts of pre-season tournaments.  In fact, you haven't really been away at all, have you?

Today we have the Community Shield. Glorified friendly or a worthwhile trophy? Whatever your view of it, this is the game that signals the start of the new season. A Premier League aperitif, if you will.

This is a chance for Chelsea to flex their muscles as reigning league champions. For Arsenal, it's an opportunity to show they could be genuine title contenders.

And as far as Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger are concerned, there is nothing friendly about this game...