Since his return to Chelsea, Jose Mourinho’s record in his second stint with the Blue is quite good at 42-12-12. His tenure from 2004-2007 is actually better at an outstanding 124-40-21. So as you might guess that means Mourinho has a lot of managers' numbers. No one more so than Arsene Wenger. The two have meet 11 times in their careers, and Wenger has yet to beat the witty Portuguese manager.
So is this weekend going to be any different? Our guess is no.
This is one of my favorite rivalries in the Premier League solely for this reason: the two managers are probably the two biggest figures left in the Prem now that Sir Alex Ferguson is gone. It’s The Special one versus Le Professeur.
Their relationship has always been sour to say the least. Off-the-field bouts are what keep rivalries interesting and these two have never failed on that front.
Arsene Wenger had no answer for Mourinho and Chelsea last time they played in Stamford Bridge. The Gunners lost 6-0. (Photo: GoalUK | Twitter)
Last year, Mourinho called Wenger a “specialist in failure.” Don’t forget Mourinho’s bunch humiliated the Gunners en rout to a 6-0 victory. Here are some more things the two have said in the past:
Wenger accuses Chelsea for not even trying to win games:
"I know we live in a world where we have only winners and losers, but once a sport encourages teams who refuse to take the initiative, the sport is in danger."
Mourinho returns fire by pointing out Wenger’s complaints about teams spending too much money:
"I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families. He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea."
Wenger wasn’t going to take that so he responded saying:
"He's out of order, disconnected with reality and disrespectful. When you give success to stupid people, it makes them more stupid sometimes."
Okay, Jose, take a shot back:
"At Stamford Bridge, we have a file of quotes from Mr Wenger about Chelsea football club in the last 12 months - it is not a file of five pages. It is a file of 120 pages so we have a very strong reaction. My objective is that it is enough."
You get the point. These two hate each other. Unfrotunately for Wenger, his squad is going into the match at a tough time. Sure they are coming off a great showing in a 4-1 Champions League victory where Danny Welbeck scored his first career hat trick, but they’re missing practically the entire team. Midfielders Aaron Ramsey (hamstring) and Mikel Arteta (calf) will be sidelined, while Abou Diaby is also likely to be rested. Unless Welbeck and Sanches provide some magic, I think Wenger probably expects to lose this one. Not to mention the game is in Stamford Bridge. We think it will be a long Sunday for Arsene and the Gunners, but when their squad gets back to full strength, the battle in Emirates could set the stage as one of the best Premier League games of the season. If we didn’t do a good enough job of pumping you up, here is a awesome video that will do just the trick.
