John Terry took clear pleasure in marking Arsenal’s downfall after their damaging 3-2 loss to Manchester United, a result that guarantees Chelsea’s long-standing Premier League defensive record will remain untouched for at least another season.
Arsenal’s push for the title has largely been founded on an outstanding defensive platform, having conceded just three goals across the opening 10 matches of the campaign.
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That early resilience convinced many pundits that the combination of William Saliba, David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes could rack up enough clean sheets to finish the season with a goals-against tally lower than the 15 conceded by Chelsea’s famed backline in the 2004/05 season.
However, the Gunners’ defence has appeared increasingly vulnerable in recent weeks, and any lingering hopes of surpassing Jose Mourinho’s first Premier League title-winning side were effectively extinguished when Patrick Dorgu fired Manchester United in front shortly after the restart. ..[read more]
‘The record is safe for another year,’ Terry wrote on Sunday night.
In a video, he added: ‘January the 25th, 2026 and the record is safe. Man United 2, Arsenal 1. Still 25 minutes to go but the record is safe for another season. So Petr Cech, Paolo Ferrera, Ricky Carvalho, William Gallas, it’s time to celebrate with a bottle or a glass of red wine.
‘I’m going for the bottle for celebration tonight. But guys let me know your thoughts. Can this record of 15 goals conceded in one season ever be beaten? I’m saying no.
‘I have to say I was a little bit worried the way Arsenal started the season and how well they started but it’s only January and the record has already gone and it’s safe for another year.
‘I still get frustrated today, it could have been sub 10.’
More importantly for the title race, Arsenal’s advantage at the summit has been cut to just four points after victories for Manchester City and Aston Villa during another chaotic and unpredictable weekend of Premier League action.
Mikel Arteta is now faced with the difficult challenge of re-energising a squad that appears to be running out of steam at a crucial stage of a season which, until now, had shown so much promise.
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