Wenger beating Mourinho does not affect Chelsea – Zouma

Kurt Zouma insists there will be no ill effect from Arsene Wenger finally getting a victory over Jose Mourinho after Arsenal beat Chelsea in the Community Shield.

Arsenal manager Wenger beat Chelsea counterpart Mourinho in a competitive fixture at the 14th time of asking, as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first-half effort sealed a 1-0 win at Wembley.

Chelsea finished 12 points clear of Arsenal in winning the Premier League last term, but Arsenal finished strongly and many have tipped them to challenge this time around.

However, when asked if Wenger beating Mourinho affected Chelsea, Zouma said: “There’s no impact for the season, they won and we were unlucky. Congratulations to them.

“We are happy to play a game in the Premier League. We lost the community shield, we were unlucky but we have to think about [the league].

“Every team can be champion, we want to be champion, we have to defend our title. We have a good squad and a good team. Mentally we are ready for that.”

Zouma also spoke of his desire to help the team whatever position he is asked to fill.

The Frenchman normally plays centre-back, but has featured in midfield for Chelsea and was employed at left-back when he replaced Cesar Azpilicueta on Sunday.

“I didn’t expect to play left-back, but I have to help the team,” he added. “The most important thing is to play for the team. The boss asked me to play left-back, I have to do a job for the team.”