Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed his rivalry with Jose Mourinho was more to do with Chelsea than it was the Portuguese head coach. The Frenchman claimed that his original frustrations came from the Blues' spending ability, dating back to 2003.
The two managers were part of some iconic moments in the Premier League, making digs at one another in the press on multiple occasions. There were also plenty of touchline bust-ups between the pair in their time, but few came quite as big as the one in 2014.
After years of build-up, the two finally came to blows in October 2014, when Wenger shoved Mourinho on the touchline during Chelsea's 2-0 victory over Arsenal. Discussing it after, the Gunners' boss said: "In hindsight I think I should not have reacted at all. It’s not a way to behave on a football field."
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Some of those moments live on today as people reflect on the 30th anniversary of the Premier League. Speaking to Sky Sports, Wenger explained where the rivalry with his opposite number stemmed from: "My rivalry was more with the clubs than the persons, I never made any statements on a personal level.
"I had a lot of aggravations with [José] Mourinho at the time because I felt that Chelsea were the first club that came in and spent money they didn't earn. At the time you had no Financial Fair Play, since that moment in 2004, nowadays they have created a financial fair play and there is more control over the finances of the clubs."
Plenty had happened with the Blues over the early 2000s, with Roman Abramovich buying the club and funding the signings of superstars during that time. It saw the club rise to the top, though it was something that clearly annoyed Wenger, with Mourinho the manager caught in the middle of it all.
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