‘I feel like I’m in kindergarten with him’: Arsene Wenger describes Jose Mourinho as childish after Tottenham manager claimed the former Arsenal boss did not write about him in his autobiography as ‘he never beat me’
- Arsene Wenger released his autobiography ‘My Life in Red and White’ this month
- The Frenchman did not write about Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho in the book
- Mourinho claimed Wenger chose not to write about him as he never beat him
- The ex-Arsenal boss actually beat the Portuguese coach twice in his career
- Wenger described Mourinho as childish, branding him as a ‘kindergarten’ child
Arsene Wenger has described Jose Mourinho as a ‘kindergarten’ child after the Portuguese manager taunted the former Arsenal boss about not mentioning him in his book.
The two managers had a toxic rivalry in the Premier League between 2004 and 2018, but the former Arsenal manager did not mention Mourinho in his autobiography, ‘My Life in Red and White’, which was released this month.
Mourinho, who now manages Arsenal’s fierce rivals Tottenham, claimed this week that Wenger didn’t dare mention him in his book as ‘he never beat me’, but the Frenchman has hit back at those claims by branding the Spurs coach as childish.
Arsene Wenger (left) called Jose Mourinho (right) a ‘kindergarten’ child in another public feud
Mourinho said this week that Wenger didn’t write about him in his book as he never beat him
Wenger told Canal+ on Sunday: ‘It doesn’t bother me. It is permanent provocation. I feel like I’m in kindergarten with him. But, that’s part of his personality.
‘It’s wrong, we beat him twice. We won, and there were also a lot of draws. And it is not ‘you’ who wins, you only participate in the victory.
‘It is “us” who win. The manager is there to get the most out of a team.’
Mourinho and Wenger faced off 19 times in total, with the former Arsenal man actually winning two times against the now-Spurs boss, contrary to the Portuguese coach’s claims.
Wenger actually beat Mourinho twice in their rivalry – once at Chelsea at once at Man United
Wenger had to wait 11 years to taste his first victory over Mourinho, as his Arsenal side defeated Chelsea in the 2015 Community Shield at Wembley thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s winner.
The ex-Arsenal coach’s only Premier League victory over Mourinho came in 2017 as goals from Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck saw the Gunners beat Mourinho’s Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.
Mourinho was adamant that Wenger had never landed a punch on him, despite the damning evidence against him.
The iconic Wenger published his autobiography ‘My Life in Red and White’ earlier this month
Mourinho told the press ahead of Spurs’ 3-3 draw with West Ham: ‘You are not going to do a chapter about 12 or 14 matches when you never win one. Why should he speak about me in his book?
‘A book is a thing to make you happy and make you proud so I understand perfectly the situation.’
Wenger and Mourinho’s rivalry began in 2004 as Chelsea snatched the title away from Arsenal in the Portuguese coach’s first season in England.
Wenger said on Friday that Sir Alex Ferguson (left) was his main rival and not Mourinho (right)
However, despite the long-standing feud with Mourinho, Wenger admitted on The Graham Norton Show that Sir Alex Ferguson was his biggest rival in football.
Wenger and Mourinho spoke about each other in the press over the years, but their only public feud came when the Frenchman pushed the then-Chelsea coach on the touchline during a Premier League game in 2014.
