Wenger and Mourinho in war of words over new book

9:36am on Monday 19th October 2020
By Martin Macdonald

Arsene Wenger has accused Jose Mourinho of 'permanent provocation' following the Portuguese manager's comments about his old rival's new book.

Last week, Wenger released his new autobiography 'My Life in Red and White' which takes the reader through his career, with particular emphasis on his over two-decade stint as manager of Arsenal.

The Frenchman joined the Gunners in 1996 and has been credited with helping to change the culture of the Premier League to focus more on the likes of diet, fitness, and sports science.

During his time with the club he won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups, while he also guided the team to the Champions League final in 2006.

His rivalry with Sir Alex Ferguson is highlighted in the book, but there is no mention of Mourinho, with whom Wenger had a more personal rivalry.

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When Mourinho was asked to comment on his omission from the book, he said it was understandable as Wenger never got the better of him.

"You are not going to do a chapter about 12 or 14 matches and never win one so why should he speak about me in his book?" the Tottenham boss said.

"A book is a thing to make you happy, to make you proud so I understand perfectly the situation."

Wenger has now responded to those claims, but has shrugged them off, before saying dealing with Mourinho was like being in kindergarten.

"It doesn't bother me," he told Canal Football Club.

"It is permanent provocation. I feel like I'm in kindergarten with him. But, that's part of his personality.

"It's wrong, we beat him twice. We won, and there were also a lot of draws. And it is not 'you' who wins, you only participate in the victory. It is 'us' who win. The manager is there to get the most out of a team."

Mourinho's Tottenham side were involved in one of the most dramatic games of the season so far on Sunday. After leading 3-0 against West Ham, they ended up drawing 3-3 thanks to three goals in the last 10 minutes from the Hammers, including an injury time screamer from Manuel Lanzini.

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