Mourinho’s gripe over Citizens’ spending fails to move Wenger
LONDON
AFTER Manchester City continued their seemingly unstoppable Premier League rampage on Wednesday, manager Pep Guardiola was left trying to calm the growing hype by suggesting his old Barcelona charges still remain Europe’s team to beat.
Even though City were wasteful and a mite distracted in their 1-0 win at Newcastle United, the fact that they still chalked up a record-extending 18th successive Premier League win with some comfort still told of their relentless excellence.
So, as Guardiola reflected on a 15-point lead at the top of the table, it was little surprise that he was asked afterwards whether City now had to be considered favourites for the Champions League as Europe’s mesmerising form side.
“Who does (Lionel) Messi play for?” was Guardiola’s response.
“Barcelona,” came the reporter’s answer.
“So they’re the favourites,” shrugged the manager.
Guardiola should know. As the man who oversaw Messi’s flowering at the Nou Camp during a triumphant reign, he was once so enraptured on the touchline, he turned to a fan, saying: “If it wasn’t for him, I’d be coaching in La Segunda (the second division of La Liga).”
Yet his City side continue to play such a dazzling brand of football that many observers feel they now look equipped to take the mantle of the continent’s pass-and-move masters.
The compliments showering him and his team seem to have only made Guardiola keener to ignore all the swooning from the rest of English football.
Even his compatriot Rafa Benitez seemed so awe-struck by Guardiola’s creation that he set up his Newcastle side with an approach of startling negativity until a Raheem Sterling goal after half an hour of incessant City pressure demanded a change.
“We did absolutely everything but it is difficult to play when the other team doesn’t want to play,” LONDON: Jose Mourinho’s gripe about Manchester City’s spending power met little sympathy in north London with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger saying he had learned to deal with his club’s inability to compete with the financial elite for more than two decades.
Manchester United manager Mourinho said this week he needed additional funds to be able to challenge runaway Premier League leaders City.
Mourinho attempted to provoke City manager Pep Guardiola on Tuesday after pointing to their rivals’ huge spending power by claiming “City buy full-backs for the price of strikers” and insisting that the £300 million (RM1.6 billion) he has spent since taking charge at Old Trafford 18 months ago as “not enough.”
Mourinho paid £93 million to sign France midfielder Paul Pogba, while also recruiting £30 million defender Eric Bailly, and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan for £26.3 million. This year, United spent £75 million on striker Romelu Lukaku, as well as £31 million on defender Victor Lindelof and £40 million for midfielder Nemanja Matic.
In comparison, City bought three defenders — Kyle Walker from Tottenham for an initial £45 million, Benjamin Mendy from Monaco for £52 million and Danilo from Real Madrid for £26.5 million as part of a summer outlay that topped £200 million.
“I have been in that position for 21 years so I will not start to complain now. There is always one team, sometimes four, who were richer than I was, so I learnt to cope with that and to deal with that,” Wenger told the British media.
“What is most important is you deal with your own situation as well as you can and, yes, Manchester City are richer than us, Chelsea are richer than us and Manchester United are richer than us, but I believe we have to find a way to be successful.”
Arsenal broke their transfer record in the close season when they signed French striker Alexandre Lacazette for a reported fee of £46.5 million. He also brought in striker Alexis Sanchez for £35 million in 2014 and midfielder Mesut Ozil for £42 million in 2013.
Despite those big-name signings, Wenger has faced criticism from Arsenal fans for his transfer policy but he stressed the need for managers to get the most out of their resources. Agencies