Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first-half strike proved decisive as the Gunners defeated their London rivals 1-0 to lift The FA Community Shield, supported by McDonald’s, on Sunday.
Wenger’s opposite number Jose Mourinho said he felt that Arsenal had changed to a defensive system and gone against their attacking philosophy following the game, adding that he believes the best team lost.
Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
The FA Community Shield supported by McDonald's
Sunday 2 August 2015
Wembley Stadium connected by EE
The winning manager, however, spoke of his admiration for his side’s performance.
“We abandoned nothing. We defended well. Our game is based on togetherness, on solidarity, and defending and attacking well,” said Wenger.
“I believe that we defended because there was maybe a bit of a psychological hurdle ahead of my players.
"They were more concerned with protecting our lead against Chelsea rather than playing attacking football.
"We have to accept that and I don’t think that’s giving up your philosophy, it’s a punctual fact that we wanted to win a game like that. I’m quite proud of that.”
The Frenchman continued: “It was an intense game. We scored the first goal and after that you could see two teams playing with full concentration, full commitment.
"Maybe in some parts during the game we just tried to protect our lead but you could see that my team was really determined not to give a goal away.
“Sometimes we lost offensive potential by focusing on our defensive side, but every time we attacked we had chances.
"We had many chances today and the best chances were on our side. We won against a good team, we won another trophy… so that’s positive.”
Arsene Wenger says his record against Mourinho had not crossed his mind
The victory was the first success Wenger has had against Mourinho having never previously beaten him in 13 attempts.
Despite the record receiving much speculation prior to kick off, Wenger insisted he had not thought about it.
“There’s an extra satisfaction because we won a game between two very good teams, and we also didn’t concede a goal against the offensive potential that Chelsea have. At the end we wanted to win and we won,” he said.
“I must honestly say that it didn’t play on my mind at all. As long as I get it served every time in press conferences it can have an impact on the team.
"Certainly the way my team behaved during some periods in the game, it helped. It was important for them to get that hurdle out of the way.”
