Carlo hails "perfect" Terry

Terry: Praised by Ancelotti

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Carlo Ancelotti paid tribute to John Terry after he inspired Chelsea to a 2-0 win over title rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

Terry put his off-field problems to one side as he gave a commanding performance to help his side move back to the top of the table.

Terry, stripped of the England captaincy by England boss Fabio Capello on Friday after a week of lurid headlines about his private life, helped Chelsea to a clean sheet and also helped set up Didier Drogba's opener.

Ancelotti was delighted with Terry's performance and described him as a "perfect" captain

"John is the perfect captain for Chelsea," said Ancelotti.

Fantastic attitude

"My captain has a fantastic attitude. He is doing very well in every game.

"It is very important for the team to have this leadership. He was always in control of the game. He has a strong mentality.

"He is working for his club and we are happy to have this performance from him in this moment.

"The England captaincy was not my decision and I do not want to judge about this decision. I knew John met Capello but I did not meet with (Terry) afterwards."

Ancelotti refused to rule Arsenal out of the title race even though his side moved nine points clear of the Gunners with the victory.

"Arsenal still have a possibility because they are a good team," added Ancelotti.

"It depends on the performances of Manchester United and Chelsea. I am not sure it will be a race with two horses."

Praise

Drogba's brace took his tally for the season to 22 and 12 in 12 against the Gunners.

"We scored an unbelievable second goal," noted Ancelotti.

"It was fantastic movement, fantastic passing and a fantastic shot from Didier. This is football.

"Didier did very well and he is in a good moment. He came back from the African Nations Cup with fantastic motivation and continues to have very good performances."

Ancelotti admitted his side had been forced to defend well with Arsenal having more of the possession throughout the game.

"We did some fantastic defensive work," said Ancelotti.

"We tried to score more but we worked together for 90 minutes. Sometimes you have to defend.

"We were winning 2-0 and it was important to defend. The defenders, midfielders and strikers did a fantastic job.

"Petr Cech was in control for 90 minutes. Arsenal produced some fantastic attacking play so it was not easy. Maybe they had more possession than us but this is not football. Football is attack, defence and results also. We deserved to win."