Chelsea may be two wins left from regaining the Premier League title, but manager Jose Mourinho insists he is taking nothing for granted – including his fantastic record against Arsenal legend and manager Arsene Wenger.
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The London rivals meet on Sunday with Chelsea 10 points clear at the top of the table. Victory at second-placed Arsenal would mean Mourinho’s team can clinch the title by beating Leicester City three days later.
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But Mourinho said his unbeaten record in 12 games against Wenger was irrelevant.
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“For me, achievement is to win (on Sunday),” he told reporters on Friday. “It’s not the other 12 matches that we played before against Arsenal.
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“It’s a big club with the same objectives that we have in the competitions we play. Because of that always comes a little bit of rivalry.
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“He’s not my rival. I just feel he’s the manager of a big club in the same city where I work and I live.”
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The relationship between the two managers has often been fraught. During Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge in October, Wenger appeared to push Mourinho during a touchline spat, something he later said he regretted.
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In his first spell at the club in 2005, Mourinho called the Frenchman a “voyeur” who talked too much about Chelsea and more recently described him as “a specialist in failure”.
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He preferred to talk about his own team, however, including Cesc Fabregas, the former Arsenal midfielder who can expect a mixed reaction at best from the home fans.
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“If he has some bad reaction he’s more than ready,” Mourinho said. “He has made a fantastic contribution to a fantastic season.”
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Chelsea will wait until after Saturday’s training session before deciding whether Spain striker Diego Costa is fit to return from injury.
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If not, Mourinho said, he will be ready for the Leicester game. Didier Drogba will play but Loic Remy is not fit.
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Something will have to give on Sunday as the leaders have won their last five away games, while Arsenal have won eight games in a row.
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1 Comment
Whatever he says or does, he cannot lose that game. Himself and the players have mastered the defensive art