Terry fires dig at Arsenal as he makes PL title claim after Chelsea were ‘by far better team’

Chelsea legend John Terry has argued that there was only one team “trying to win” as the Blues held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Two Premier League title contenders met at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, with Chelsea hosting London rivals Arsenal.

Chelsea were clearly full of confidence following their deserved win against FC Barcelona in midweek as they were the stronger side for large portions of the match.

The Blues deserved to lead at the break, but they failed to take advantage of their dominance and Moises Caicedo was sent off for a rash foul.

However, Enzo Maresca’s side took the lead at the start of the second half as Trevoh Chalobah headed home from a corner, though Mikel Merino later scored a header of his own as the sides settled for a draw.

This result leaves Arsenal five points clear at the top of the Premier League table, while Chelsea are six points adrift of their rivals in third.

Speaking post-match, Terry hit out at Arsenal as Chelsea were the only team “trying to win” on Sunday.

“The game’s just finished [in a draw] but I’m absolutely delighted with that performance from the boys,” Terry said in a video posted on his TikTok account.

READ: 16 Conclusions from Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal: Caicedo, Chalobah, cards and carelessness

“I thought we were by far the better team, regardless of spending the majority of the game down to 10 men.

“But I thought the first half, there was only one team on the front foot looking to win the game and showing aggression.

“It’s a London derby and that’s what we want to see from our players. Flying into tackles, a little bit of aggression.

“Unfortunately, the referee has killed the game by handing out three yellow cards in the first 15 minutes and taking the sting out of it.

“No arguments with the Caicedo one, I think that’s a red card, and unfortunately he’s going to be a big miss for us. But overall, I thought there was one team trying to win the game and that was us.”

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Terry has also argued that the Blues have proven that they can “compete with the very best in the league” as they look to mount a sustained title challenge.

“I thought we were very good going forward, we were direct, really quick on the counter as well. We were solid defensively,” Terry added.

“That can be tiring for the boys when you’re down to 10 men, especially after a big week against Barcelona [on Tuesday] and travelling away to Burnley last weekend.

“Super performance from the boys, delighted for Chalobah scoring. We spoke about how important set-pieces were in the build-up to the game and thankfully we were the team to get the advantage from that one.

“Overall I’m delighted and we rest up and keep going. We have to be delighted with that today because Arsenal have been rolling teams over week after week so far. Hence why they’re top of the league.

“But they don’t get any further away from us in this title race so far. I think today, we’ve shown we can compete with the very best in the league and give everyone a run for their money.”