Arsene and Jose: It gets personal

24 April 2015 - 02:02 By Jeremy Wilson, Daily Telegraph

It was a fire that Arsene Wenger would surely be well advised not to stoke but, perhaps buoyed by having just reached a seventh FA Cup final, he could not resist a small sprinkling of petrol. Informed that Chelsea had just beaten Manchester United to effectively clinch the Premier League title, Wenger claimed not to know the result.When told of the score, there was a flicker of a smile. "1-0? The usual," he said.Jose Mourinho's teams are effective but predictable. A bit of a bore even. But i n 12 matches, Mourinho has never endured so much as one defeat against Arsenal, winning seven and drawing five.The aggregate scoreline is 21-6 and the most memorable result was certainly no drab 1-0 but rather the 6-0 demolition that Chelsea inflicted at Stamford Bridge last year on the occasion of Wenger's 1000th Arsenal game.Sunday is Wenger's best chance of finally beating Mourinho since their first meeting as managers 10 seasons ago when Arsenal were "invincible" defending Premier League champions.Arsenal twice took the lead in that game before Chelsea scrapped to a 2-2 draw that was arguably the decisive moment in their first Premier League title win under Mourinho.The pendulum swung towards Chelsea that day and has remained there ever since.Arsenal are on a run of 24 wins in 29 matches during the past five months and have won every Premier League match at The Emirates in that time.The bookmakers make Arsenal favourites.But the personal element on Sunday also can hardly be ignored. The extent to which Mourinho gets under Wenger's skin was laid bare at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season when he shoved the Chelsea manager during a heated touchline confrontation.The Arsenal vs Chelsea match airs from 4.30pm on Supersport 3 on Sunday. ..

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