Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has had no second thoughts about fielding John Terry against Arsenal today.

Terry missed Chelsea's 2-1 Carling Cup win at Everton on Wednesday because another booking would have ruled him out of today's crucial Premier League derby.

But there is no question of him withdrawing from the firing line this afternoon.

And Villas-Boas insisted: "I see no reason why he should not play.

"JT has been excellent in training and I have no concerns about his state of mind. Never.

"Everybody gets stick from the crowd for various reasons but I don't think he will get any more than usual. For us at Chelsea, this situation has not been a distraction because it's normal day-to-day life. There is no siege mentality here.

"The other players have been quiet on the matter because they know that nothing happened so there is nothing to discuss.

"The thing that disappoints us is that this story has been sustained at such an intense level and is based only on speculation.

"It is a tremendously serious accusation but that does not mean it isn't a big misunderstanding.

"We have all had our ups and downs in the past and we all want to become better people with better values.

"John Terry is the captain of your England team and your country and I think you should be proud of him like I am proud of Cristiano Ronaldo as the captain of Portugal."