Chelsea legend John Terry spoke about Arsenal’s situation recently, arguing that the Gunners "celebrated far too much" after eliminating Chelsea to reach the Carabao Cup final in midweek.
Bolstered by a 3-2 first-leg lead at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal faced little challenge in the second leg on Tuesday night. Kai Havertz’s stoppage-time winner still sparked wild celebrations on and off the pitch, as the Gunners sealed their place in the Wembley final against Manchester City.
Arsenal have not won any silverware since Mikel Arteta led the side to FA Cup glory in 2020. The former Chelsea captain was clearly in a foul mood after watching his old club suffer a tame defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
"I think in the two games we’ve played against Arsenal this year, we’ve played better than them in both," Terry said in a TikTok video. “So I’ve never feared Arsenal in these games, whether it’s the league or any cup competition. It might be different in a Champions League semi-final, where tactics might be more cautious. But this is the Carabao Cup, a competition we’ve won many times—there’s nothing to fear at all. I felt the pressure was on Arsenal this week, and I’m disappointed we played too casually away from home; our counterattacks came far too late.”
The legend, who won five Premier League titles and the Champions League with Chelsea, then spoke about Arsenal’s post-match celebrations, stating that this was merely the Carabao Cup, not Europe’s top competition. "I want to talk about Arsenal’s celebrations after the game... Don’t forget this is just the Carabao Cup, not the Champions League Final," Terry continued. “In my opinion, they celebrated far too much, and that just shows the pressure they’re under right now.”
"I’ve said it before, Arsenal are clearly the best-performing team in the Premier League this season, and I also think they have the deepest squad. But they’ve only reached the Carabao Cup final, not the Champions League Final. Yes, this is the first trophy up for grabs this season and it’s certainly important, but it just shows me Arsenal’s current mindset—they can feel the tension. I know all Arsenal fans feel the same way as me: the possibility of them messing it up is still there."
