John Terry has hit out at Arsenal’s response to their Carabao Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea, accusing Mikel Arteta’s players of ‘celebrating far an excessive amount of’ and ‘showing the pressure’.
Holding a 3-2 lead from the primary leg, Arsenal found themselves within the driving seat to advance through to this 12 months’s final – but they were made to work for it on the Emirates on Tuesday night.
The visitors, starting out with a back five, managed to maintain the Gunners’ possibilities to a minimum across what was largely a turgid and cagey affair in north London.
But Arteta made a double substitution with 20 minutes remaining of the second leg and the change worked wonders, with ex-Chelsea man Kai Havertz coming on and scoring deep into stoppage time to send the house crowd right into a frenzy.
Only Manchester City – who got the higher of Newcastle of their semi-final – stand between Arsenal and the club’s first piece of major silverware since their FA Cup triumph in Arteta’s debut season way back in 2020.
Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea, meanwhile, will look to bounce back from the frustration after they return to Premier League motion away to lowly Wolves later today.
Reflecting on Chelsea’s 4-2 aggregate defeat, club legend Terry felt his former side left it ‘far too late’ to attempt to overturn the deficit away from home within the second leg.
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‘I feel against Arsenal, this 12 months the 2 games I’ve seen, we’ve outplayed Arsenal,’ the ex-Chelsea and England captain said in a video on his TikTok page.
‘So going into those games, I’ve never feared Arsenal anyway, within the league or in any competition.
‘I feel it’s different if we’re within the Champions League semi-final, I feel you’re approach then becomes a bit bit cautious.
‘Nevertheless it’s the Carabao Cup, we’ve won it repeatedly and we had nothing to fear, I don’t think, going into that. I feel the pressure was on Arsenal within the week and I feel we made it very easy for them at home as well, so disillusioned with that, I feel we left it far too late.’
Terry then turned his attentions to Arsenal’s celebrations after the second leg, which he felt were excessive given ‘wasn’t the Champions League final’.
In accordance with Terry, the response demonstrated how Arteta’s players are ‘showing the pressure’ and ‘feeling the nerves’ with a lot expectation on their shoulders this season.
‘I just need to talk on Arsenal’s celebrations after… let’s not forget, it’s the Carabao Cup, it’s not the Champions League final,’ he went on.
‘They celebrated far an excessive amount of for me, I feel that showed the pressure that’s on them in the meanwhile.
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‘I’ve said it before, Arsenal are looking the most effective team by far within the Premier League to this point and I feel they’ve got the most effective squad within the Premier League to this point.
‘They’ve got loads of strength in depth and I feel they’ve been the most effective, but additionally, it definitely wasn’t the Champions League final that they’ve qualified to, it’s the Carabao Cup final.
‘Yes, it’s the primary competition you may win, I feel it’s really vital, but that just showed me where the Arsenal team are at in the meanwhile.
‘They will feel the nerves and I do know every Arsenal fan out there’s feeling what I’m feeling, that there’s still a likelihood.’
Were Arsenal’s celebrations excessive?
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Terry – a five-time Premier League winner with Chelsea – believes Manchester City and Liverpool are still in contention in the highest flight, despite Arsenal’s six-point lead on the summit.
He added: ‘Manchester City haven’t got going yet, Liverpool haven’t got going, and people two teams face one another this weekend.’
Arsenal can increase their advantage at the highest of the table to nine points with victory at home to eighth-placed Sunderland this afternoon.
Nevertheless, the hosts may very well be without two of their key men in Bukayo Saka and captain Martin Odegaard, who’ve each been nursing minor injuries.
Mikel Merino is a certainty to miss the clash and is ready for a lengthy spell on the sidelines on account of a broken foot.
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