Arsène Wenger has recommended that José Mourinho check the “real statistics” if he wants to scrutinise Arsenal’s transfer policy, citing his record of developing young players and adding that he does not think it worth listening to the Chelsea manager. “It’s enough for me”.
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“I think Chelsea have beaten us at Chelsea 2-0 last year, where we felt that we gave the game away a little bit”, he said.
“We lost against [New York] Red Bulls and were not happy, so it’s normal that we always try to play for a result, the Community Shield has more motivation than a friendly”. So, for us, Petr Cech is a top signing. They have affected his time with Chelsea, Spain and former club Atletico Madrid.
Wenger threw out that notion, however, claiming Arsenal still lead the way on producing home-grown talent.
Chelsea Manager José Mourinho says he doesn’t explode with happiness when he beats Arsenal and Arsene Wenger.
Wenger, who confirmed that Danny Welbeck (knee) will not be fit for the showdown at Wembley, also refuted suggestions that Southampton had enquired about taking defender Chambers back on loan following his switch to the Emirates Stadium last July.
“I want to develop him as a centre-back”.
While this is not as important a game as the Premier League or a domestic tie between the two sides, it is a good chance to get an early indication of where both teams are ahead of the league. “What we have to do is maintain the levels of last season because all the teams will be better and that means we will better so we can compete against them to do well”.
“He [Hazard] can decide the games and you put the top players in this kind of calibre when they can decide the games with something special”, he added.
“It is all about opinions, you have to compare the numbers”.
Mourinho said: “I believe (Costa is free of injury), but I’m not anxious about it. I go match after match”.
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FA Cup holders Arsenal will be looking to secure a morale boosting win over Premier League champions Chelsea when they face-off in the Community Shield on Sunday. “It’s been well documented that the Portuguese has something of a hex over us and even though its a friendly it would be nice to shift the “#narrative” before the big kick-off. There is an argument for Walcott to start up front but I think Arsene will go for Olivier Giroud’s presence against the physicality of Cahill and Terry.
