Chelsea captain Terry says Community Shield loss to Arsenal could be ‘blessing in disguise’

Chelsea captain calls losing 'horrible, whether it's against my kids or anyone'

Chelsea's John Terry, No 26, and Branislav Ivanovic look dejected at the end of the FA Community Shield match against Arsenal on August 2, 2015. Andrew Couldridge / Reuters

John Terry has urged his Chelsea teammates to heed the wake-up call presented by their Community Shield defeat to Arsenal.

The Premier League champions were sluggish as their London rivals, through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's 24th-minute goal, recorded a rare victory against them in Sunday's match at Wembley Stadium, the traditional curtain-raiser to the domestic English season, which starts next weekend.

Terry remained certain that they were the superior side and refused to dismiss the fixture as a friendly, hoping the defeat would ensure that they were better prepared.

“There was a trophy on the line,” said the 34-year-old Chelsea captain, whose side host Swansea City on Saturday in their opening league fixture.

“It hurt when you saw them walk up the stairs to lift it. It means a lot because you work all season to be here. They earned the right to be here by winning the FA Cup. So did we by winning the league.

“No matter if it’s a friendly or a Community Shield, it’s a trophy at the end of the day. It’s horrible. It’s not nice. At the same time, it could be a blessing in disguise for us – a wake-up call.

“We have experience in the squad; we have the character. It’s going to be even tougher this year. We go again and prepare ourselves for Swansea. We have the Premier League to concentrate on now. We have to take the positives from it. We got another 90 minutes under our belts.”

Chelsea had only returned from a pre-eason largely spent in the United States on Wednesday while Arsenal, who resumed training a week earlier than Jose Mourinho's team, appeared fresher.

Terry and his teammates also struggled against fatigue towards the end of last term – their impressive start was ultimately what inspired them to the title – but the defender said their conditioning was not a concern going into the new campaign.

“I don’t think so,” he replied when asked if Chelsea’s players were tired. “I thought we were on top, if anything. I think these games are always a bit slow anyway. The players are still finding their feet and fitness.”

Describing what it meant to lose, Terry added: “Horrible, whether it’s against my kids or anyone. That’s the mentality I was brought up in. That’s the same as the manager on a daily basis.

“It was a different atmosphere in the dressing room afterwards. We haven’t lost many at Wembley. It’s maybe the boost we needed ...”

The defeat means Chelsea’s preseason is at risk of concluding without a solitary win in normal time.

Gary Cahill resumed his central defensive partnership with Terry but was unconcerned about their form and instead maintained that they should be judged from Saturday, when the league season begins and they bid to be the first side since Manchester United in 2008/09 to successfully retain their title.

“Preseason is false in many ways because you’re changing the team, everyone’s getting minutes, everyone is trying to get fit and you’re training hard,” Cahill said.

“You’re doing double training sessions before you play a game. We still have another week of that before we get down to business against Swansea.

“I thought the game was opened up by a bit of individual brilliance.” Oxlade-Chamberlain “came inside and hit it into the top corner. Apart from that, I don’t think they had too many chances.”

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