Terry scandal will not affect Chelsea, says Martin Keown

Martin Keown believes Chelsea will not be affected by the turmoil surrounding John Terry.

Terry was sacked as ­England captain on Friday following revelations about his private life and national coach Fabio Capello wasted no time in naming Rio Ferdinand as his replacement.

But Chelsea are sticking by their skipper and have given Terry full backing.

Keown said: “I don’t think it’ll have any effect on the team whatsoever. He has already played two games with this hanging over him.

“He is focused and does a professional job when he is asked to play football — that’s never been in question.”

Keown believes Arsenal would have been badly wounded by their 3-1 home defeat against Manchester United last week.

Speaking at the launch of BT’s sponsorship of the London 2018 World Cup bid, he said: ­“Today is must-win game for my old club.

“They certainly cannot afford to lose it.

“A win would be a ­fantastic tonic for the team because they must have been wounded after last week.”