Another season, another clash between managers.
José Mourinho can’t stop having digs at Arsène Wenger weeks after facing the Arsenal manager, even though Chelsea controversially walked away with all three points. Quite simply, the two men will never see eye-to-eye.
One person who knows them both well is Petr Čech. The big goalkeeper played for Mourinho for five of his 11 seasons at Stamford Bridge, before moving to the Emirates Stadium this summer.
“The similarity is that everybody wants to win,” Čech said of the Portguese and the Frenchman in a frank interview with Sport. Mourinho and Wenger don’t have much in common, but it’s hard to argue with that.
“If you ask Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger if they want to win everything: yes they do. You can see they don’t like losing games, and I think this is something you need to have in you if you want to be successful.”
It’s hard to disagree with that, and both managers have certainly had their shares of success. Mourinho quickly builds teams to enjoy a short spell of domination, whereas Wenger has built a legacy which will outlive even his stay at Arsenal.
The complete contrast in the way they go about their jobs may well be what has driven a wedge between them What, in Čech’s opinion, is it that makes the managers clash so much? The desire to win?
“It’s more a question for them. But, yes, sometimes two pluses doesn’t make a plus.”
Čech has been a huge plus for the Gunners since his arrival in north London, and it’s fair to say Wenger has definitely got one over his rival by capturing the signature of the goalkeeper.