Arsene Wenger has covered a broad range of subjects in his new autobiography ‘My Life in Red and White’ but one of his fiercest rivals was conspicuous by his absence with Jose Mourinho failing to gain a single mention.
The pair clashed on numerous occasions during The Special One’s two spells in charge at Chelsea and his two-and-a-half year tenure at Manchester United.
Mourinho, now in charge of Arsenal’s north London rivals Spurs, infamously accused Wenger of voyeurism and branded him a specialist in failure at the height of their rivalry, but the pair have long since put their differences to one side.
Still, Wenger opted not to touch on his many confrontations with Mourinho in his new book, which was released earlier this week, and cited Sir Alex Ferguson as his fiercest rival.
Asked to explain Mourinho effectively being airbrushed out of his book, Wenger said: ‘I didn’t want to make a book that sorts out some differences. I wanted it to be a positive book. I had more acrimonious battles with Sir Alex than Jose Mourinho.’
When Wenger arrived in England back in October 1996, Ferguson’s relentless Manchester United winning machine dominated the Premier League.
Arsenal, aided by their new French manager’s coaching techniques and eye for a bargain in the transsfer market, proved formidable foes, however, and won three league titles between 1998 and 2004.
‘The competition makes you hate the opponent,’ Wenger said of his rivalry with Ferguson. ‘I think he certainly hated me and I hated him sometimes as well.
‘Whenever we competed it was always a fight — always very tight and nervous. And don’t forget we also had to deal with Fergie time.
‘But when the competition is over what remains is a deep respect for guys like him, for what they have achieved and how long they stayed in the job and dedicated their lives to it.’
MORE: Thomas Partey drops Arsenal debut hint ahead of Manchester City clash
MORE: Lucas Torreira’s father reveals the only way back for him at Arsenal
Follow Metro Sport across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
