Man United vs Arsenal: It’s Not About Managers, Says Wenger

TAIWO ADELU

Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger has again responded to the hype that has been generated ahead of the Old Trafford cracker between the Gunners and Manchester United on Saturday.

The French man said that the war is not between him and Red Devils boss, Portuguese Jose Mourinho, rather it should be seen as a war stage where two teams will test their strength and play good football.

According to the website of Arsenal, Wenger was asked about his relationship with Jose Mourinho, previous matches at Old Trafford and more. This is what he said:

on the match…

I think before a big game like this it is ‘Mourinho v Wenger’ – but that is not what is most important. What is important is the quality of the game when it starts. When you watch Real Madrid v Barcelona you want to see a football game and you are never disappointed because you see the quality of the match. Today, football has changed and even if it is Manchester Untied v Arsenal, if the game is not good after 20 minutes they move somewhere else, that is what has changed in the modern game.

on a clash of styles between him and Mourinho…

Look, it is people who judge. It is about winning and losing and I can understand that. Today, the audience is demanding. Afterwards you can contrast the styles but the game has to be interesting and it can be with differences in style. Sometimes has changed in the last five years is that the audience test the game and the quality of what they see and if it is not good, they go somewhere else because they have five games a day.

on the defeat at Old Trafford last season…

When you say we haven’t lost a game away from home in 2016, that game was an exception. We had other big games, we played at Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea, everywhere. On that day we didn’t turn up with a performance but that does not mean it is the normality, it is the exception of the year. We have to show on Saturday that it was the exception and we have to turn up. We beat Man United 3-0 at home in the same season. What is today happening is that you fail one time [and people say] ‘Oh, they failed, they will fail again.’ Life is not like that. If you turn up 25 times and you lose one game, people take that one game as a normality. No. You have to turn up the 25 times before, believe me.

on Mourinho’s past comments…

In life, everybody is responsible for what he says and what he does. So I am responsible for what I say and what I do. Not what other people say or what they do. So I cannot respond to responsibility for what other people say about me or about themselves. I stand up for what I have said and what I do.

on whether he has any regrets…

I make mistakes in my life, and I regret every one I make, believe me. I would have loved to have a life without any mistakes. But unfortunately I am not even sure that Jesus did that.