Jose hints on changes for Gunners
LONDON.- Jose Mourinho insist he is ready to make wholesale changes to his side for tomorrow’s English Premiership soccer showdown with Arsenal.
The Manchester United manager presided over a narrow 1-0 Europa League semi-final first leg win over Celta Vigo on Thursday night and believes winning that competition represents his side’s best chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
United remain in contention for a top four finish, they currently sit just a point behind Manchester City, but with trips to Arsenal and Tottenham to come during the run-in, Mourinho has made the Europa League his clear priority.
The Special One will be protecting a proud unbeaten English Premier League record against Arsene Wenger when his side travels to the Emirates Stadium tomorrow, but he is ready to jeopardise that to ensure his team are fresh for next Thursday’s second leg against the Spanish side at Old Trafford.
“It’s a short result, it could have been better (against Celta),” he said.
“Seeing Celta’s trajectory in the Europa League, they definitely deserve respect for the second leg.
“The players are in accumulation with lots of minutes because we played nine matches in April and now this one, so 10 in fourand-a-half weeks.
“The players in that accumulation are not going to play this weekend (against Arsenal).”
United will already be without long-term injury victims Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw, while both Ashley Young and Marcus Rashford are highly doubtful after sustaining knocks during the 1-0 win over Celta on Thursday night.
And now Wenger and Mourinho continue one of the most poisonous and one-sided rivalries in English football when Arsenal host Manchester United tomorrow.
A fixture that once enjoyed the cachet of a heavyweight title fight - and often resembled one on the pitch as England’s pre-eminent teams slugged it out - has been relegated in status with United fifth and Arsenal sixth in the Premier League.
But although it has no bearing on the title race and both clubs are struggling to even finish in the top four, Wenger and Mourinho in such close proximity will add some needle to this weekend’s Emirates Stadium showdown.
Wenger has won only one of 15 meetings with a Mourinho team, and even that came in the Community Shield.
What is more, he has endured regular taunts from nemesis Mourinho - a coach with vastly different football philosophy.
Mourinho once labelled Wenger a “voyeur” and on another occasion called him a “specialist in failure”.
For his part, Wenger branded Mourinho “stupid”.
This season’s clash at Old Trafford, which ended in a 1-1 draw, passed off peacefully, but the relationship remains frosty.
Were it not for the two managers involved, the significance of tomorrow’s fixture would be questionable, although for Arsenal the stakes are higher than for United.
Their hopes of finishing in the top four - something they have achieved 20 seasons in a row look forlorn.
Even five wins from their last five games would leave them relying on slip-ups by Liverpool and Manchester City.
Defeat by United would extinguish any realistic chance Arsenal have of playing in next season’s Champions League - snapping an ever-present sequence stretching back to 1997.
“It’s not in our hands,” Wenger said.
“It is a big game. But for us more than focusing on the fact it is Manchester United, a big club and a big rivalry over the years, what is important is to have the chance to achieve our target.
“We have no choice, we have to beat them.”
On paper, fifth-placed United, who are five points above Arsenal having played a game more, have a better chance of finishing in the top four. But that appears to be Mourinho’s Plan B with Europa League glory beckoning.
The Arsenal clash is sandwiched between away and home legs of the semi-final against Celta Vigo, and Mourinho is clearly prioritising the only piece of silverware to elude him, especially as that would ensure a Champions League spot.
“We have two matches in one week against Celta,” said Mourinho, for whom winning the Europa League would complete a set of trophies.
“It’s important to have everybody. In relation to the Premier League, I think it’s too late.
“We played nine matches, seven of them in the Premier League (in April), and we had too many problems, too many players absent. We paid the price.”
Wenger, whose future at Arsenal remains uncertain, is not buying any mind games, though.
“We cannot speculate on any weakness of Manchester United. No matter who plays, they will have a strong team out.
“Only a top-level performance will get us the win we want.” Reuters-Metro.