Man Utd v Arsenal? I’ll be watching the tennis, says José Mourinho

Jose Mourinho won't be watching Manchester United v Arsenal because the Chelsea boss is going to ATP World Tour Finals

Share

Jose Mourinho returned to Chelsea this summerPhoto: The Sport Review

Arsenal’s trip to Manchester United is the Premier League’s standout fixture this weekend, but Chelsea boss José Mourinho will be watching two great tennis champions instead of Sunday’s showdown.

The Blues can narrow table-toppers Arsenal’s lead to five points when Mourinho comes up against his former assistant manager Steve Clarke as West Bromwich Albion make the trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

But the Portuguese doesn’t plan to watch the blockbuster meeting between the defending champions and Arsène Wenger’s high-flying Gunners as the Chelsea manager will be watching the ATP World Tour Finals decider, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic tipped to battle for the end-year title.
“I think I’ll go to the tennis. But if I don’t watch [it] live, I will watch after, of course,” Mourinho said.


Mourinho admits the challenge of winning the Premier League title in his first season back at the Blues is much tougher than when the 50-year-old first took charge of the Blues in 2004 and ended Arsenal’s dominance.
That Gunners squad, dubbed the Invincibles, navigated the Premier League campaign without a single defeat as Wenger secured his third and most recent top-flight crown of his reign at the north London club.

But Mourinho doesn’t feel there should be any comparisons made between the Frenchman’s current crop and their last title-winning side, which boasted the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.
“They are a very good team but I don’t think we should compare teams. They are a very good team and a very good squad,” he continued.

In his recently published autobiography, former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson conceded Mourinho’s Chelsea side of the mid-naughties changed the landscape of English football.
The Red Devils were forced to improve to compete with the west London side after a large period of domination, save for Arsenal’s intermittent Premier League title triumphs in 1998, 2002 and 2004.

“He [Ferguson] told me that and he used some funny words like saying that the Championship was a marathon and after that becomes a marathon to a sprint. I know it’s true,” he said.
“United felt they needed a different approach and we pushed them to a different level to where they were in 2004-05 which was quite comfortable for us to win.”

But for now at least, Mourinho believes it’s advantage Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
“I think six [teams are in the race]. Everton is there, Southampton is there. I don’t want to disrespect them [but] realistically we don’t think Everton or Southampton are going to fight for the title.