John Terry Cries About Arsenal’s Celebrations After Chelsea Win

London – Former Chelsea captain John Terry has criticised Arsenal’s exuberant celebrations after Kai Havertz’s 87th-minute goal sealed a 4-2 aggregate Carabao Cup semi-final victory at the Emirates on Tuesday night, setting up a Wembley date with Manchester City.

Television footage showed Mikel Arteta’s squad piling on Havertz near the corner flag, fireworks crackling above the stadium as Arsenal booked a first domestic final since their 2020 FA Cup triumph. The scenes, however, prompted a stern rebuke from Terry, speaking in a television interview after the match.

“They celebrated far too much, that showed the pressure that’s on them at the moment,” the ex-England defender said. “Arsenal are looking the best team by far in the Premier League, and they’ve got the best squad. But it certainly wasn’t the Champions League final that they’ve qualified to, it’s the Carabao Cup.”

The remarks drew immediate scrutiny given Terry’s own history with trophy presentations. In 2012 he infamously appeared in full Chelsea kit to lift the European Cup despite being suspended for the Munich final, a moment long cited as an example of his complicated relationship with public displays of glory.

Arsenal, who currently top the Premier League and remain in the Champions League knockout rounds, have endured a succession of semi-final exits since their last piece of silverware four seasons ago. Players and staff defended Tuesday’s reaction as the natural release of a squad desperate to return to winning ways.

For Terry, the outburst adds another chapter to a post-playing career already shadowed by off-field controversies, most notably the well-documented affair with a former teammate’s partner that has coloured perceptions of his moral authority.

With Manchester City awaiting at Wembley later this winter, Arsenal will hope the celebrations that so irked their London rivals prove merely a prelude to a long-awaited trophy, while Chelsea lick their wounds after a semi-final exit that, in Terry’s words, ended “with barely a whimper.”