John Terry has heaped praise on Max Dowman after the Arsenal wonderkid became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history.
Dowman, 16, stole the headlines on Saturday after he led the Gunners to a crucial 2-0 win over Everton.
The attacking midfielder, who has been training with Arsenal’s first team since he was 14, helped set up Viktor Gyokeres’ 89th minute strike after coming off the bench, before he scored on the breakaway in the seventh minute of added time.
And Terry, who has come across Dowman through his role coaching within Chelsea’s academy, was left in awe by the 16-year-old’s display.
‘Max Dowman what a player by the way,’ Terry began on his TikTok page. ’16 years of age, almost 17, absolutely incredible.
‘I watched him play against Chelsea about a year ago, and I’ve not seen anybody glide past people like this man does other than Messi.
John Terry heaped praise on Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman and likened him to Lionel Messi
Terry made the comparison on his TikTok page and also weighed in on the bizarre incident involving Paul Tierney and Chelsea’s pre-match huddle
‘That’s a big, big comparison but this guy is a proper talent and will play a big part in Arsenal’s future and also England as well. But a super, super talent – and a big win for Arsenal.’
Terry’s attentions then turned to Chelsea and the bizarre incident before their defeat by Newcastle when referee Paul Tierney found himself trapped in the middle of the Blues’ pre-match huddle.
Terry felt this was unacceptable from the official as he said: ‘What the f*** is Paul Tierney doing in the huddle with the Chelsea players before the game.
‘Surely the lads have just got to get rid of him and tell him to f*** off. Drives me mad stuff like that, referees just (need to) completely stay out the way of stuff.’
In regards to the incident, Chelsea have been congregating on or near the centre circle in recent weeks but surrounding a referee is an unprecedented step.
Tierney looked utterly bewildered as the players leant in around him, while Cole Palmer stared directly at the official before having words with him after the huddle dispersed.
Elsewhere, Enzo Fernandez was barely able to hold himself together as he had a laugh at what was going on.
The awkward episode lasted for around half a minute, during which viewers were left scratching their heads.
Tierney appeared to accept his fate and made no attempt to escape the mass of bodies encircling him.
They did seem to be holding a genuine team talk, with Palmer the only player who looked more interested in Tierney than their discussion.
In fact, Palmer went a step further at the start of the huddle and simply hugged Tierney from behind without invitation.
Terry said the Chelsea players should have told Tierney to ‘f*** off’ during the surreal scenes
Blues boss Liam Rosenior later hit out at Tierney and pledged to contact the PGMOL after the utterly surreal scenes.
‘I’m respectful to the game,’ said Rosenior after the 1-0 home loss. ‘My players made the decision that they wanted to be around the ball, to respect the ball and show unity and leadership. That is not my decision. That was a decision between the leadership group and the team.
‘There is nothing they’re doing with that huddle that is disrespectful to the opposition. We had a meeting with the referee.
‘My assistant goes in. The first thing he (Tierney) talks about is our huddle. He says about when I complained about Arsenal being in our half (during their Carabao Cup semi-final clash).
‘We’re not being disrespectful to the opposition. If Paul had focused more on his job, which was to make the right decisions, we have a penalty. I don’t think anybody in this room can say that Woltemade doesn’t kick Cole Palmer down in the box.
‘So let’s focus on the things that are important. My team showing unity is not as important as getting the decisions right on the pitch.’
