There is still no return in sight for Aaron Ramsey who is struggling with an ongoing hamstring injury and Wenger confirmed in his pre-match press conference that he’s unlikely to be available for Arsenal’s next two games against Basel and Burnley.
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“I never thought he would leave Atletico Madrid at that time”.
When it was put to him that the balance of power shifted following the arrival of Mourinho in 2004, Wenger said: “They had strong teams”.
Jose Mourinho says he has no problem with Arsene Wenger despite the publication of a book which quotes him as saying he would “break his face”.
Asked if he thinks that Arsenal might have developed a mental block when it comes to facing Chelsea, Conte replied: “No, I don’t know”.
“But we must know that we face a good team in good shape, a big rival for us, and we must pay great attention”, said the 47-year-old. When they started to beat us they had Robben, Drogba, Lampard, Terry. “I’m more constructive and I can not comment on that because I’m focused on tomorrow’s game and how we want to play football”. They had (Michael) Essien, Ashley Cole who joined them and a young Petr Cech.
Antonio Conte has praised Arsene Wenger’s 20 years in charge of Arsenal and insisted that he would like to emulate his longevity at Chelsea.
“First and foremost, it’s a massive game and we just need to keep our discipline and stay in the game”, he told the club’s official website.
‘Now, it looks like it’s a new era where it’s a bit more balanced again and we feel we are progressing at the moment so we have a good opportunity to grab and to change what I call “the inconvenient facts” of the recent years’.
Wenger also suggested that he will give his side of the often bitter rivalry with Mourinho when he retires from management.
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Gabriel and Per Mertesacker were both red carded in respective games for tangling with the Spaniard last term whilst the striker also earned a retrospective three-match ban for engaging in a running battle with Laurent Koscielny. “I can not comment on that. I am happy. I think this is my real dream”.
