John Terry names Man United and Man City legends among the four toughest opponents he faced during his playing career… but which Arsenal talisman did he ‘fear the most’?
John Terry has revealed the Arsenal legend he ‘feared most’ during his playing career as he named the toughest opponents he has faced.
Terry was elected to the Premier League Hall of Fame on Monday, along with Manchester United legend Andy Cole, where he will be nominated alongside former teammate Ashley Cole in 2024.
Both Cole and Terry enjoyed legendary careers in the Premier League, with the former representing seven different teams, while the defensive icon spent his entire 19-year top flight at Chelsea.
During this period, the former England international met many of the Premier League’s best strikers and then revealed his four toughest opponents.
He said: ‘Thierry Henry was the best one I came across, the one I feared the most.
John Terry has named the four toughest opponents he faced during his playing career
The ex-Chelsea captain named Thierry Henry the player he ‘feared most’ on the pitch
‘Next has to be Wayne Rooney. He was a top player, top player and what he achieved was unbelievable.
“I don’t know if it’s a bit overlooked how good Wayne was when he first broke into the England team.
‘I remember playing against him in the Premier League and having him as a teammate during the English sessions. He was phenomenal.
‘I would also say that Sergio Aguero or Harry Kane were difficult to beat.’
Former Arsenal star Henry is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in Premier League history, with 228 goals in 377 appearances for the Gunners.
During his time in the English top flight, Henry faced Terry a total of fifteen times, winning five, drawing six and losing four to the Chelsea defender.
Despite Terry praising the Frenchman’s individual qualities, he also took aim at the Invincible’s after being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Terry has claimed that Chelsea’s performance of conceding just 15 goals in the 2004-05 season was as impressive as when Arsenal went an entire campaign unbeaten last year.
Manchester rivals Wayne Rooney (L) and Sergio Aguero (R) were also on Terry’s four-man list
Former Tottenham striker Harry Kane (R) was the last name Terry gave in the interview
Terry (R) and Andy Cole (L) were inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame on Monday
‘I’m going to upset a few people here, but I think that season was as good as the Invincibles season for Arsenal. They drew an awful lot of games,” he claimed.
‘We only lost once, away to Man City, Paulo Ferreira gave away a penalty early in the game and we should have come back and won the game.
“If you look at the goals we conceded that year, we conceded against sides you wouldn’t expect if I’m honest, and that’s no disrespect to them. Looking back today. That might have been nine or ten goals conceded.
‘To be honest, I don’t think this is a record that will ever be broken. I certainly hope that is not the case and I am very proud of what we have done defensively. That’s what we were paid for: keeping the ball out of the net. It obviously helped having players around me like Petr Cech, Ashley Cole and Ricky Carvalho, so I’m very grateful for that.”
