Jose Mourinho claims Arsene Wenger receives greater respect for his achievements as a manager, despite the pair enjoying comparable levels of success.
Mourinho faces his Arsenal counterpart Wenger on Saturday for the first time since he became Manchester United manager, and the former Chelsea man will be looking to extend a record which has seen him lose just one match against his old foe in 15 matches.
Despite the pair being the two most successful managers currently working in English football, Mourinho believes Wenger gets more credit for his achievements.
“In the Premier League, just the Premier League, tomorrow is the game between the two managers with the best records since Sir Alex Ferguson is not here anymore,” Mourinho told a news conference. “We are speaking about six or seven Premier League titles between us. I have three, Mr Wenger has three or four, I don’t know.
“It means we should be respected, even in periods when our results are not the best. I think Mr. Wenger has that respect, but I don’t think I have. My last title was 18 months ago, not 18 years ago, but I don’t feel I have that respect.
“My record is good, I have won nine championships and want to win a fourth Premier League. I am in the club where I want to be, that is as simple as that.”
Arsene Wenger (left) and Jose Mourinho kept apart by the 4th official when arsenal played Chelsea back in 2014.
Although he has enjoyed goading his Arsenal rival over the years, most notably in 20154 when he described Wenger as a “specialist in failure”, Mourinho insists that the only thing that matters tomorrow is the players on the pitch.
“My record against Mr Wenger is not important,” Mourinho said. “I don’t play against managers; my teams plays against other managers’ teams.
“A football match is an isolated event, nothing to do with what happened before or happen in future. I don’t speak about individual records.
“The record of any other manager being good or bad, it is about what you get globally as a team – our results.”
