Maybe my success started Wenger rivalry – Mourinho
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho thinks his rivalry with Arsene Wenger may stem from his arrival in 2004 and Arsenal’s failure to win a title since.
Wenger scored his first Premier League victory over Mourinho at the 14th attempt on Sunday when the Gunners beat United 2-0 thanks to goals from Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck.
Mourinho won back-to-back titles with Chelsea in his first two seasons in England after the Gunners had won the Premier League in 2003-04.
“The Arsenal fans they are happy, I’m happy for them,” said Mourinho after Arsenal’s win over United.
“It’s the first time I leave Highbury or the Emirates and they are happy. It’s the first time. I left Highbury they were crying, I left Emirates they were crying.
“It’s a big club. Do you think I enjoy the fact that a big club like Arsenal is not winning big trophies? I’m not enjoying that but today I tried to win. I did not give them the game to win but we lost.”
Mourinho insists there is no hostility between the pair but couldn’t resist another veiled dig at Wenger in an interview with ESPN Brazil.
“There’s no rivalry,” Mourinho said in the interview. “Maybe the rivalry started because when I came to England in 2004, Arsenal were the best team and started losing league titles after 2004.
“There’s no special rivalry, I respect the manager and have no personal issues.”
