Arsene Wenger yesterday pushed the nuclear button in his war of words with Jose Mourinho by uttering an insult that will surely inflame the Chelsea manager. Provoked by Mourinho's accusations that he resembles a "voyeur" by cheerfully commenting when asked about Chelsea, the Frenchman hit back with his own apparently calculated broadside.
"If you give success to stupid people, then it makes them more stupid sometimes, and not more intelligent," said Wenger.
If there is one thing Mourinho prides himself on more than his extensive Armani wardrobe, it is his intellect.
Wenger had been stung by Mourinho's tirade, delivered after Chelsea's 4-2 defeat of Blackburn, in which he was accused of being fixated with the Premiership champions and even of wanting the manager's job at Stamford Bridge. Yet the Frenchman's invective, unprecedented in nine years as Arsenal manager, raised the bar further, betraying how deeply he had been unsettled by the Portuguese's polemic.
"(Mourinho's comments were) out of order, disconnected from reality and disrespectful. I will see whether I take any action about that - I don't know yet, but I leave that door open," said Wenger shortly before slamming that particular door shut with his retaliation. "I don't know what I said that was malicious. When I am asked about Chelsea I give an honest answer, as I would expect any other manager who is asked about Arsenal. I am not obsessed with Chelsea. I am at a club I am very happy at."
The latest comments in the feud seem destined to damage the pair's relationship beyond repair. Mourinho has become the lead character since his entrance to the Premiership, typified by Chelsea's first title win in 50 years in his first season. He has forged cordial relationships with several Premiership managers. Yet it appears Mourinho, who has reflected that press conferences are the first whistle of each match, using them where possible to engineer a psychological advantage, considers Wenger's Arsenal to be the chief threat to Chelsea's primacy.
Mourinho has turned his verbal guns on the Gunners before. He erroneously referred to Arsenal as the team that wins the most penalties, accusing them of using David Dein's influence at the Football Association to manipulate fixtures lists in their favour and Wenger of tapping up Julio Baptista while on holiday in Brazil. Wenger has highlighted Chelsea's perceived reliance on "long balls" and criticised the Stamford Bridge hierarchy for being "naive and arrogant" in the illegal approach for Ashley Cole.
This time last year the FA chairman, Geoff Thompson, wrote to Arsenal and Manchester United to request their mutual antipathy be addressed. The enmity between Wenger and Mourinho will be harder to tackle. Wenger believes Mourinho's comments were indicative of a new attitude at Chelsea after Roman Abramovich's takeover in 2003, fearing it will erode the traditions of the game. "When I came to England, I was happy to come and be confronted with the English culture, where the owners of the clubs were English and they opened the door to foreign people," he said.
"Now, in some clubs, it looks like it is becoming different. It is important the respect you have always shown stays, but it looks more like foreign people are buying the clubs and employing English people . . . it's very important the values of the game remain as they were - respected and admired everywhere. Part of it is that everyone can have an opinion about the game."
Arsenal face a Sparta Prague side with only one point from three Champions League games. Arsenal fared better in Prague, scene of Thierry Henry's record-breaking 185th and 186th goals, and he returns tonight for a fixture that could see them confirmed as Group B winners. "If there was the slightest risk (with Henry's fitness) I wouldn't take it, but I think Thierry will start," said Wenger. "We will try to finish the job of qualifying and finish top."
