Arsene Wenger’s farewell tour continues on Sunday when Arsenal take on Manchester United at Old Trafford. This time he’ll take on the manager who has essentially been his greatest arch-nemesis in Jose Mourinho. The Wenger vs Mourinho personal rivalry really flared up during the latter’s two tours of duty at Chelsea.
Mourinho has called Wenger all sorts of nasty names over the years, once branding him a “specialist in failure.” We’ve even seen the two men nearly come to blows on the pitch. However, exactly one week ago the tone was a complete 180 when Wenger announced he was stepping down at the end of the season. Mourinho paid extensive tribute, and heaped lavish praise upon the Frenchman, all of which you can read at this link.
It was surprising to hear the Portugese say all those things, but that’s why it’s called “the retirement bounce.” Mourinho kicked it up another notch yesterday, when he articulated just how much respect he has for the 68 year old. He even believes that they could become friends one day.
“If he respects me even 50 percent of what I respect him we can even be friends in the future,” Mourinho told Sky Sports News. “I have lots of respect for him. But the reality is that he was at Arsenal, he was the champion and I came to the country in 2004 and wanted to steal his title. That’s football.”
United FC Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Arsenal Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Mourinho and Wenger press conferences: coming tomorrow
Injury and fitness report for both teams: go to this link
Odds via Odds Checker: United 6/13, Draw 50/13, Arsenal FC 15/2
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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