SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
Mourinho wants old enemy Arsene to keep Gunners job
JOSE MOURINHO insists he does NOT want to see arch- enemy Arsene Wenger get the sack.
Manchester United boss Mourinho goes head to head with the man he once branded “a specialist in failure” when the Reds travel to face Arsenal at the Emirates today.
Wenger is facing a fan revolt after a season that has seen the Gunners struggle to make the top four.
But he has found an unexpected ally in Mourinho, who says he feels the Frenchman’s pain.
“The truth is that I hope Wenger keeps his job at Arsenal. I really do,” claimed Mourinho.
“I hope that the club trusts him to make things better.
“I think that Arsene is probably the last example of a manager who brings stability to a club over such a long time.
“Sir Alex Ferguson was the same at United and he was able to leave when he knew it was time to leave.
“I hope that it is the same with Wenger.
“I feel sympathy for other managers because we live through the same pain. All of us.
“Football has changed. Now it impossible for managers to stay in their position for a long time.
“Football now means if you don’t get success then you are gone – so, yes, I feel bad for other managers.
“When you are at one club for 20 years it is impossible to have success every single year.
“Even Sir Alex will tell you that.”
United remain in fifth place, despite a club-record 25-game same-season unbeaten run.
Arsenal are five points behind, but with a game in hand.
Mourinho has been able to keep the pressure off at Old Trafford by winning the EFL Cup.
United can also qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League – and they took a massive step towards the final by beating Celta Vigo 1-0 in the first leg of the semi-final in Spain on Thursday night.
Mourinho and Wenger have been sworn enemies for years.
But the Portuguese was sacked by Chelsea last year and has been unable to take United into the top four despite spending £ 150million in the transfer market.
Mourinho insists he has been rebuilding a club that has failed to qualify for the Champions League in two of the three seasons since Ferguson retired.
He said: “I don’t care what people think about me. I think
I think Arsene is probably the last example of a manager who brings stability to a club over such a long time
this has been a good season and it can still be a very good season.
“In terms of my work, I think this has been about rebuilding a team and rebuilding a club.
“For me, it has been a positive process. What people on the outside say doesn’t matter.
“It’s not important to me because I know the work we have done this season.”
Mourinho believes finishing in the top four is now beyond United. Three of their last four games are trips to Arsenal, Tottenham and Southampton.
And the United boss has now made the Europa League his No.1 priority.
Mourinho has promised to ring the changes at the Emirates today in a bid to protect his players from further fatigue in a gruelling season which has seen them play 58 games already.