Patrick Vieira picks Jose Mourinho over Arsene Wenger in huge snub to Arsenal boss

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Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira has snubbed former coach Arsene Wenger by revealing Jose Mourinho had the bigger influence on his career.

The former French international played under Wenger for nine years in north London, while he featured for Mourinho for 18 months at Inter.

Despite the significant disparity in time spent with each coach, Vieira has opted to choose Mourinho and also went on to reveal that he was never approach by the Gunners about a role after he retired.

Vieira was asked to pick any manager in the world to coach his ultimate XI, and replied: “Jose. He’s the manager who had more influence on me,” he told The Times.

“Why? Because he [Mourinho] was the one who impressed me most on his work ethic. He knew everything about the opposition, the strength, weakness.

“His detail was unbelievable; everything was so clear about what he wanted from each player. I don’t know what happened at Chelsea but he always got the best out of his players.”

Vieira went on to explain that the management style between the pair was very different, with Wenger more focused on his own team and giving them freedom to express themselves.

However, despite enjoying significant success with the Gunners, he revealed that he was never offered a position in the coaching staff despite the fact that he was expecting a call having built several significant relationships at the club.

Nevertheless, he will now be hoping to be a success at New York FC, while he has been touted as a future Manchester City boss after working with the club’s youth academy.

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