The new Premiership season has not even begun but Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has already started a war of words. The target was his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger who Mourinho taunted for his 13-game winless streak against him. No one should be surprised at Mourinho wanting to get snippy but his criticisms of Wenger betrayed a feeling that Mourinho sees Arsenal as a main rival this season. And for good reason.

The war of words continued onto the pitch Sunday as the two clubs clashed in the Community Shield with Arsenal coming out victorious in a tense, spirited match. Not only did Arsenal end their winless streak against Chelsea under Jose Mourinho for the first time ever, but it showed the Gunners are well poised to challenge the defending Premiership champions. The actual season will start this upcoming weekend but both teams took the Community Shield game quite seriously judging from the determination on display. In the end, Mourinho showed he wasn't happy with the outcome when he claimed Arsenal had defended with 10 men and only played defensively, in other words, like a Mourinho team.

Arsenal are coming off a strong ­finish last season that saw them come third while retaining the FA Cup, winning two titles in a row after a nine-year trophyless spell. Arsenal did not spend big in the transfer market but instead strengthened themselves immensely at the back by signing goalkeeper Petr Cech from Chelsea, a move that Mourinho only reluctantly agreed to.

Arsenal, as many fans and observers know, were seen as a good but not great team in the past decade, finishing in the top four every season but never winning the league or any trophies. This changed in the last two seasons with the FA Cup wins, but another important ­factor is that Arsenal are no longer losing top players annually like Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie. Instead they have ­fortified the squad by getting big names like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.

Arsenal were also known for faltering against the best such as Chelsea and Manchester United when it mattered. Last season, they did away with that reputation by defeating Manchester City away and knocking United out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford. They will need to continue that this season before anyone can say they have fully shed their soft reputation but the Community Shield was a good start.

As Mourinho found out to his cost Sunday, while his Chelsea are still the team to beat, he will need more than mere words to hold off the Gunners.

The author is a Beijing-based freelance writer. hcpyip@gmail.com