Lyon expect Michael Essien's £23 million transfer to Chelsea to be agreed during a telephone conference this morning between their president, Jean-Michel Aulas, and Stamford Bridge chief executive Peter Kenyon.

Another deadline imposed by the French club expires today. But there is scepticism in west London as to whether the deal will be completed so soon. With 23 days still to run before the transfer deadline, the Premiership champions, who yesterday added the Community Shield to their burgeoning collection of trophies, are more relaxed about the negotiations.

Indeed, Aulas has imposed so many deadlines that Chelsea will only succumb to the latest on their terms. Lyon manager Gerard Houllier wants Tiago Mendes to move in the opposite direction on a season's loan, and that shift in their stance will have encouraged Kenyon.

Though Kenyon has determined to use Roman Abramovich's billions to secure a position of unassailable dominance, Jose Mourinho disputes that goal is realistic.

"Domination is never absolute," he said. "You have to lose matches and competitions; you can't win everything, in modern football that is impossible. But my players are enjoying the good feeling of the victories.

"(The Community Shield) gives you a trophy and it is good to win; only Eidur (Gudjohnsen) had won it before. In 13 or 14 months together we have won everything in English football except the FA Cup."

Arsene Wenger appears to have little time for the tactics that have yielded the Premiership title, the English League Cup and the Community Shield in the past six months. The Arsenal centre half Philippe Senderos struggled against the powerful Didier Drogba, who scored both of Chelsea's goals, prompting a sneer from Wenger.

"They play their game and we play ours," he said. "Chelsea were dangerous on the long balls and were very direct. We tried to play our usual game but I feel Drogba on the long balls gave us a hard time."

Those comments may have been intended to influence Mourinho ahead of the two sides' next encounter, at Stamford Bridge in two weeks, but Mourinho justified his side's compact shape. "We arrived and scored," said Mourinho of Drogba's seventh-minute opener. "After that the game was different, Arsenal had to chase the result."

Wenger was relaxed about his side's travails yesterday and the manner of last season's title handover. "This result was not three points won for Chelsea. I have won four Community Shields and no one counts it as a trophy, so what's the point?"