Arsene Wenger plays it cool as Arsenal look to end Chelsea hoodoo
Wenger accepted there would be few pleasantries when Arsenal face Chelsea in Sunday’s Community Shield at Wembley tomorrow.
The Gunners’ French manager is prepared for the “tribunal” of public scrutiny he believes follows every big clash in English football, vowing not to alter his Premier League plans win or lose this weekend.
Chelsea boss Mourinho has accused Arsenal of trying to buy their way to the Premier League title, claiming totting up the Gunners’ spending over the last two years leads to a “surprise”.
Wenger attempted to downplay the pair’s simmering feud ahead of Sunday’s meeting, but conceded the contest is bound to carry a level of spice.
“You know, it will not be a friendly, because it is just like that — and it is good like that,” said Wenger. “That’s part of our game now— you have to accept that every game is judged as though it’s definite.
“But you know in real life it is not like that.
“The tribunal is out there and we’ll draw conclusions from Sunday, but no matter if it’s positive or negative we have to continue on our way and focus on ourselves.”
Asked if his winless personal record against Mourinho was any concern, Wenger replied: “No, not at all.”
Wenger then moved quickly to shoot down the line of inquiry, laughing off suggestions his relationship with Mourinho is far colder than his previous rivalry with ex-Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson.
“I’ll leave your love story with him to continue without interfering,” joked Wenger, suggesting the media favour Mourinho. “I wouldn’t like to interfere in that.”
When challenged that Mourinho believes it is Arsenal who receive preferential treatment, Wenger replied: “So it’s all about love.”
Returning to the weight carried by Sunday’s Community Shield, Wenger continued: “It’s a game that is important, but it’s still preparation.
“We want to win it but overall I think we can just give that little bit more confidence before we go into the season if we do well.”
New recruit Petr Cech is expected to start in goal on Sunday in a quick-fire showdown with former club Chelsea.
Wenger backed the 33-year-old for a lengthy stint at the Emirates. “He has an intimidating presence, that is for sure,” said Wenger.
“In goal, he makes the goal look smaller, and that’s the kind of charisma he has.
“But he has big size as well.
“He has a good combination between quality, agility and size, and he has always looked built for English football.
“And he’s a very bright boy as well.
“I think his move is a bit like Van der Saar at that age, moving from Fulham to Manchester United and he still had five or six years with United.
“So I don’t see why Petr should not have a few years.
“He’s very serious, trains well, so there’s no big problem.”
For his part Mourinho insists his personal 13-match unbeaten record against Wenger’s Arsenal is irrelevant tomorrow.
Yet he would be scratching his head and asking himself why it was happening if he had endured a winless run like Wenger’s against a rival.
“I don’t think about what happened before, I just think about the game,” Mourinho said. “For me, six, seven, eight or nine matches without losing makes (no) difference and I don’t think affects this game.
“For me there is no relation between one game and what happened before.”
Asked what he would be thinking if the roles were reversed, Mourinho said: “I think I would ask myself why. I would to try to answer but not because of a mental block but because I would want to try to find solutions to help my team to do it.
“Try to find a different way, try to find the reasons why it goes all the time against my team. But just that.”
Mourinho says he has never been on the wrong end of such a run, referencing only successive defeats against the same boss but different teams and in different seasons.
“I lost twice against Tony Pulis,” said Mourinho, after pausing to think. “I lost against Palace (March 2014) and against West Brom (in May 2015). One game each.”
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