WENGER’S PEACE BID
ARSENE WENGER says he wants to make peace with Jose Mourinho.
The Arsenal boss has been locked in a feud with Manchester United chief Mourinho ever since the Portuguese arrived in England 13 years ago.
They have stuck the boot into each other at every opportunity, with Wenger even shoving the thenChelsea manager in the chest during an astonishing touchline bust-up in 2014.
Respect
But ahead of Sunday’s crucial clash between two sides desperate to finish in the top four, Wenger surprisingly offered an olive branch to the man who once branded him a “specialist in failure”.
“We have respect,” said the Frenchman.
“I’m always open in life for everything, you know, for peace.
“I think I try to respect everybody and I do not want to make a case of any person.
“But what’s important when you are a competitor is that you try and give absolutely everything to win the next game.”
Wenger also never saw ® eye-to-eye with former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson before repairing their rocky relationship towards the end of Fergie’s reign.
Yesterday, he passed up the chance to lay the boot into Mourinho, who he has never beaten besides a Community Shield win in 2015.
Asked about Mourinho’s fixture pile-up moans, Wenger, 67, said: “Normally a hectic schedule is what you want because it shows you are in the competitions.
“And overall, if you have no big injuries, we are all equipped to deal with that.
“What has changed in the Premier League is the teams in the positions 10-20, as there’s still some top players on the bench.
“We focus on our performance. I don’t know what Man United will do.
“No matter who plays, they will have a strong squad team out. Only a top-level performance will get us the win we want.
“I think it’s important I focus on my own team, the performance of my team and all the rest.”