Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has confirmed that Jose Mourinho hated Arsenal during his time with the Blues. He claimed that the manager would operate in a different way in the build-up as he never wanted to lose to the Gunners.
Speaking on his Obi One podcast, Mikel admitted that the rivalry was there with Manchester United, but Arsenal were the side Mourinho hated the most. He added that the fight with Arsene Wenger was one of the best on the touchline:
“Arsenal, he [Mourinho] kind of hated [them]. There was rivalry with Manchester United, but Arsenal he [really] hated. You could tell by the fight both [Mourinho and Wenger] had on the touchline at Stamford Bridge. And he called him the specialist in failure. All of that was classic Jose, he knew how to get under [their skin]. Jose knew how to play the mind game with Arsene.
“Every time we were facing Arsenal, it was a total different ball game. He never wanted to lose to them. In the build-up towards facing them, his attitude, demeanour, everything changes. He was serious, paid attention to all the details and everybody had to be on their game.”
Jose Mourinho has faced Arsenal 23 times in his career as a manager. He has lost just thrice to the Gunners – once each at Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham – while winning 12 times.
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho took cheeky dig at Mikel Arteta and Arsenal last season
Jose Mourinho was not happy with the media praising Mikel Arteta and Arsenal for their defensive performance against Manchester City last season. He claimed that the same people who used to blast him by calling it ‘parking the bus’ are now calling it a ‘magic strategy’ by the Spaniard.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager told The Telegraph:
“The way they [Arsenal] played to get that point – and the way the media spoke about a magic strategy. In my time, it was not a magic strategy. And I won at Manchester City a few times. But it was not an amazing strategy. It was a defensive game. Park the bus. Park the double bus. It was a different perspective.
“How many central defenders do they have in the team? Sometimes they have six. As a matter of principle. Then they play in other positions. They play right-back, left-back, they play midfield.”
The Portuguese has now taken charge at Fenerbahce but has failed in his first hurdle. They have not made it to the UEFA Champions League via the playoffs and will now be in the UEFA Europa League this season.