After quotes from Jose Mourinho about Arsene Wenger from a book were released this week, the Arsenal boss has provided an immediate response.
In a serialisation of the book by the Daily Mail, written by journalist Rob Beasley, the stand-out quote thus far has been that Mourinho wanted to ‘break his face’ when discussing Wenger’s comments about Chelsea’s decision to sell Juan Mata to Manchester United in 2014.
Unsurprisingly, it was one of the first topics brought up in the French tactician’s press conference on Friday, as he prepares his side for the game against Chelsea this weekend.
Instead of fanning the flames further, Wenger ultimately decided to take a diplomatic approach to talk of the comments from his bitter rival, although he obviously doesn’t care too much for the book as he insisted that he wouldn’t even bother reading it.
In a subtle dig at his old foe, Wenger went on to insist that he’s more a ‘constructive mode’ sort of person rather than being destructive, but the bad blood is obviously still there between the two managers who have never seen eye to eye.
We’ll have to wait until November to see them cross paths in the Premier League, and for now, Wenger isn’t interested in entertaining Mourinho’s desire to get physical and bring some violence to the table.
Wenger on Mourinho’s comments: I haven’t read the book and I certainly will not read it. So I cannot comment on that. I talk about football.
— Mattias Karén (@MattiasKaren) September 23, 2016
Wenger on Mourinho contd: “I’m not in a destructive mode, never. I’m more in a constructive mode.”
— Mattias Karén (@MattiasKaren) September 23, 2016