It took 13 tries in league play (15 overall) but Arsene Wenger achieved his first ever victory over Jose Mourinho today. Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0, and in the process, United and Mourinho conceded their battle for a spot in the top four. Instead they will focus on getting back to UEFA Champions League by winning the Europa League tournament.
In spite of all this, Wenger refuses to claim a personal triumph over Mourinho.
“It is not manager against manager,” Wenger said to Sky Sports in his postgame television interview. “We have had many draws as well and there were some fantastic teams that we played against.”
Later, at his post game media conference he added: “It’s between two teams, and at the end of the day that’s what I make of it.”
The personal rivalry between Mourinho and Wenger is very well documented. Almost monthly, you can run an article entitled “Jose Mourinho Throws Shade at Arsene Wenger.” Of all the jabs Mourinho has tossed at Wenger, “a specialist in failure” certainly stands out as one of the more colorful remarks.
Heading into the game, Mourinho said that he hopes Wenger will stay on at The Emirates beyond this season, and these remarks, coupled with the result (and the manner of it) prompted some people to posit conspiracy theories about Mourinho and Wenger today.
In the other dressing room, Mourinho couldn’t help himself from taking a subtle swipe at Wenger (read that here).
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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