‘I feel like being in kindergarten with Jose’
Arsene Wenger has brushed off Jose Mourinho's reaction to being left out of the Frenchman's autobiography despite their fiery touchline clashes through the years, saying that coping with the Portuguese made him feel just like he was in kindergarten again.
Wenger's autobiography, "MY ENTIRE LIFE in Red and White", looks at his 22 years at Arsenal but didn't mention his duels with Mourinho, whose Chelsea side dethroned the Frenchman's 'Invincibles' in 2004-05. Mourinho had said the reason why he was not mentioned in the book was, "Because he never beat me."
"It doesn't bother me. It's a long-lasting provocation." Wenger told Canal Plus. "I feel like I'm in kindergarten with him. But that's part of his personality."
Mourinho's rivalry with Wenger reached a boiling point in 2014 when they physically clashed on the touchline in a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge.
It took Wenger 14 attempts to finally beat Mourinho, who once called him a "specialist in failure", and he managed only two wins in 19 meetings.
"We beat him twice. We won, and there have been also a whole lot of draws," Wenger added. "It isn't 'you' who wins, you merely participate in the victory. It's 'us' who win. The manager will there be to get the most out of a team."
