The game was played between Chelsea, champions of the 2004–05 Premier League and Arsenal, who beat Manchester United on penalties to win the 2005 FA Cup Final.

Opposing manager Arsène Wenger admitted Drogba had presented problems for Arsenal and likened his opponents to a long ball team, who on the day played "very direct".

[8][9] The other Community Shield place went to Arsenal, who beat Manchester United on penalties to win the final of the 2004–05 FA Cup.

[17] Chelsea fielded a full-strength team, which lined up in a 4–3–3 formation; an attacking three of Didier Drogba, Damien Duff and Arjen Robben.

[18] Arsenal's line up by contrast was relatively inexperienced in midfield – Gilberto Silva was on the bench and Mathieu Flamini partnered Cesc Fàbregas in the centre.

[19] The stadium observed a period of silence in memory of the victims of the July bombings in London, and a mark of respect to Arsenal fan Anthony Walker, killed on Merseyside the previous week.

[21] Arsenal in the 36th minute fashioned their best chance of the game through Kolo Touré, whose shot forced goalkeeper Petr Čech to save acrobatically.

He went down on a challenge from Lauren and proceeded to roll around Arsenal's penalty area once Lehmann got involved – the "farce" was brought to a close after words from the referee.

[21] Arsenal made a host of changes before the match restarted – Gilberto, Robin van Persie and Alexander Hleb were substituted on for Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Flamini.

[21] Arsenal scored in the 64th minute; Ljungberg crossed the ball from the left and Fàbregas evaded the Chelsea defence to slot it past Čech in the goal.

[23] Both clubs made mass substitutions in the final third of the game, notably Wright-Phillips coming on for his Chelsea debut in place of Robben.

Mourinho believed his team deserved to win and said after scoring the first goal, "we looked comfortable and solid in the defence and good on the counter-attack.

[29] Two weeks after the Community Shield match, both teams played each other in the league at Chelsea's home ground, Stamford Bridge.

They became the first London team to participate in a European Cup final, though lost 2–1 to Barcelona in the Stade de France, Paris.