Soccer-Chelsea's Zouma bolsters case as Terry's heir

By William Schomberg LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma strengthened his prospects as successor to captain John Terry on Saturday, scoring the goal that set up a 2-0 victory over Arsenal. Terry, 34, watched from the bench as his French understudy and fellow central defender Gary Cahill helped produce Chelsea's first clean sheet in the Premier League this season. It was the first time that Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho had not picked Terry for a league match when he was fully fit. The win gave the champions a big morale boost after their miserable start to this year's campaign. Zouma, 20, took a leaf out of Terry's book when he ventured forward at a free kick early in the second half to score his first ever Premier League goal with a downward header. Eden Hazard sealed Chelsea's 2-0 win in the 90th minute, his shot ricocheting off Calum Chambers into the net. Chelsea had conceded 12 goals in five Premier League games before Saturday, more than a third of the total during all of last season. Chelsea tried to sign centre half John Stones from Everton last month but the Liverpool club refused to sell him, leaving Mourinho to work out how to plug the holes in his defence using his existing squad. Zouma, who signed for Chelsea in 2014 from French side St Etienne and is on the fringes of the French national team, also played alongside Cahill in Chelsea's 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League on Wednesday. Terry would have made his 650th start for Chelsea had he been selected. Last season he played every minute of each league game. But so far in this campaign, he has looked off the pace and was substituted at halftime against Manchester City before being sent off against West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said there was no long-term significance behind his decision to leave Terry on the bench, saying Zouma was the best option to counter Arsenal's pacey striker Theo Walcott. "He knows that he is my man. He knows that if I have to choose one out of 25, he is the first. He knows that I care about him as a person, as a player. He knows that nothing is at risk," Mourinho said. Zouma played down the importance of his goal. "It was very important goal for the team today, we needed to win today and we played well and are really proud," he told BT Sport television. (Editing by Clare Lovell)