Will the Mourinho jinx continue at Manchester United? by Twig
One of the most fascinating personal battles in football is the one between Wenger and Mourinho. In 13 meetings between these two great managers, Mourinho has always come out with at least a draw, scoring 21 goals and conceding a paltry 5 goals. What makes it most fascinating is that no matter how demoralized and out of form Mourinho’s team has been, they always manage to up their game, somehow, and get a result against Arsenal. For example, although Chelsea had one of their worst seasons last year, they were still able to call upon Mourinho’s old mastery over Wenger to secure an aggregate 3-0 win against Arsenal. And that was a Chelsea side that had suffered ignoble defeats to the likes of West Brom and Bournemouth!
Chelsea and Mourinho have since parted ways of course and the former Blues manager has now found a new life at Old Trafford. Arsenal and Manchester United will be doing business again this season at some point, and you wonder if Wenger has done enough to secure victory against Mourinho this time around. Mourinho has been very busy: he has secured the signings of Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan and the record-breaking capture of Paul Pogba. Wenger hasn’t been as lively in the market. After the early capture of Granit Xhaka, Wenger has preoccupied himself with securing “one for the future” signings, who will probably play no major role for Arsenal this season, or even play for the first team in future while Wenger is Arsenal manager for that matter. Other than that, the Arsenal team remains primarily the same as last season.
Mourinho has had an impressive start too. He has won all his games so far, won the season’s first title, and is already being repaid by Ibrahimovic, who’s the early season’s top goal scorer. For Wenger, the case is starkly different. Arsenal lost 3-4 at home to Liverpool last week, in a game that could well have ended 1-6, and we endured a bore-draw against Leicester.
While Mourinho has gone aggressively buying players, Wenger has been passing (uninvited) comments at the signings of Ibrahimovic and Pogba, which drew a not surprisingly angry response from Mourinho. The Manchester United squad is also brimming with optimism. Rooney has found new form while the very public bromance between Ibrahimovic and Pogba can only have positive impact on the pitch.
Meanwhile, Wenger’s team is beset with several problems. two of Wenger’s senior centrebacks are injured while the other is only regaining full fitness. two midfielders have already been lost just after the first game of the season. The club’s two best players, Ozil and Sanchez, are yet to sign contract extensions. In fact, a recent report suggested that Ozil will jump at a chance to rejoin Madrid. And you wouldn’t really blame him will you? (It may surprise some Gooners but players also follow the transfer businesses of their clubs as keenly as fans! Just that they don’t speak too much about it) At the transfer front, there also seems to be an alarming sign that Arsenal is losing its pulling power, having been snubbed or failed to secure the signings of Vardy, Higuain and lately Mahrez.
Arsenal also has tactical problems. It is still unclear who the central striker for the season will be, with Giroud, Walcott and now Sanchez all being considered. While Arsenal have been put off by the £60M asking price for Lacazette – who will certainly solve some of their striker issues – Manchester United seem to have no such problems with the (potentially overpriced) signing of Pogba. At the moment it seems that Wenger has decided to commit to Sanchez for the number 9 role. However, Sanchez has played there severally – including last week – and has been unconvincing in all attempts. You feel that this tactical confusion of who should be the striker for Arsenal will continue up to May next year.
In short, while things look rosy and good for Mourinho, the season is already on the brink of a disaster for Arsenal, especially if we do not win our game today. So what do you think Gooners? Has Arsene done enough to score one against his old rival this season or will it be routine triumphs for Jose Mourinho?
Twig
PS Wenger did beat Mourinho last season to the Community Shield, of course, but for most ambitious Arsenal fans, that doesn’t count.
NO. MEN UTD have the Ambitions! Arsene don’t care, except his $8 Biillion wages!!!
No we can’t. Add our jinx with Chelsea, that’s about 10-12 points lost against 2 teams and we’ve already 5 behind..
With new striker: MAY BE
Without new striker: NO CHANCE
unless that striker is luis suarez or robert lewandowski who win the biggest games on there own no.
wenger has had what 13 attempts to beat him. mourinho is just a better motivator. better tactical manager and has shown this with never losing to wenger .
wengers arch nemesis is also his superior.
6-0 on his 1000th game will never be forgotten
“6-0 on his 1000th game”
That hurt so bad 🙂
we could get messi, we’d still lose to Mourinho. Arsene’s squads are mentally fragile. He’d turn Messi into a choker.
‘All Arsenal players fighting for their position’ – Wenger back end of last season.
Today Joel is sent out on loan while Walshott automatically returned to first team this season. Remember this guy was displaced by Joel in the last 5-10 matches of last season.
why doesnt joel hand in transfer request
while theo is talking yet again after another poor performance. joel showed way more about him
why stick around. its an insult
Looks like Campbell has been sent on a season long loan to Sporting Lisbon.
I just don’t understand anymore. Ornstein said we were arguing over the Mustafi fee so that we’d have money left over for a striker. I like Campbell, but it’s clear he isn’t going to get into this Arsenal team. Why are we loaning him out? If he’s not going to make it, sell him. We supposedly need the money.
Bolasie cost Everton £30m. Ibe cost Bournemouth £15m. I don’t know why on earth we can’t get a decent fee for Campbell.
l certainly do not see us even getting a point from Man U if we do not strengthen our squad and Man U continue playing the way they are playing. If it so happens that we beat Mourinho and his expensive team then perhaps Wenger would have proved everyone that wants him to buy wrong. l will also stop criticizing his transfer policies and assume that he knows best till the end of the season!!!
I am not a Mourinho fan, but I have to admit he is so much more a winner than AW, and I wouldn’t put any money us beating Man U the way things look. Not at home, not away and definetely not in the table.
gundogan de bruyne
vs
pogba mhiktyran
vs
ozil sanchez
who wins?
Walcott is better than Campbell.
Only if Ibrahimovic doesn’t play and we get a another striker
I think Zlatan will score 30 PL goals this season
He has already scored 3 goals in first 2 matches
What’s all this?Wenger can beat Mourinho of course.But any team can beat any team.Having said that saying team. A can beat team B is like saying nothing because we live in a world of many possibilities. Arsenal can win the league season and so can Sunderland, Watford and the other so called smaller teams. A wise man will accept his faults,accept reality,accept his shortcomings,accepts his mistakes and will do everything possible to improve upon every part of his life which needs improvement.A foolish man hmmm I would say is the complete opposite.I hope you guys see where am going with this so that it won’t seem like I’m heaping insults on a certain somebody.
As much as we could find Mourinho disgusting he is better than Wenger; doesn’t matter if he was sacked by Chelsea in one bad season he had. Wenger would’ve been sacked several times in Italy or Spain.
I don’t think we’ll get any more players this transfer window and really see man U beating us twice this season. Hope it’s not another 8-2 debacle though
why are we talking about Jose and united repeatedly. Are we playing them next? Jose is a problem later to wry as right now united are in different level while we have 1 point from 6.
and one more thing wemger won’t prove anyone wrong by just beating Jose in an one off match. If arsenal fc finishes above his Manchester United then yes otherwise no point.
Does anyone know how long Asano needs to be out on loan to gain his passport. Will it be the same as Campbell, if so that’s three to four years and Asano will be in his mid twenty’s. Also about these deals were a player has to go out for three years. What real incentive will the club have for fine tuning another clubs player, they get no huge transfer fee, and if they make him great they’ll be watching him just walk out the door. I think there should be an incentive for the club, depending on how great they turn out, otherwise they’ll put their time and best resources into their own hopefuls.
Minimum 2 years or more it all depends on how many international competative matches he plays for Japan over the next two years. Therefore, he is not going to do anything in his first two years at the club. Base on age, ability, style of play, and Arsenal immediate requirement I believe Asano is a poor signing.
Walcott now wants to play the right wing, Sanchez best attributes is charging defenders and fullbacks with the ball at his feet commencing from deep and wide areas his weakness is holding a position high up the pitch alongside defenders and allowing midfielders to feed him balls. Therefore, Sanchez best position is on the wing, for mr Wenger to play his best player in his weakest position is madness.
Lacazette is now 70 million and his simply not good enough, Welbeck has poor control which makes him ineffective as a striker and base on Olivier Giroud overall performance in the EUROS, there is clear evidence his going to have a modest season. Mr Wenger best option is to buy Balotelli for 7 million.
ARSENAL fan for 45 years….came to the point to doubt if I watch the games to see Arsenal win or just to watch them loose and make the point that we’ve become the poor relative of the bigger Clubs….our standings (CL /4th place) is awesome if we were Watford even Liverfool, but as an Arsenal fan I came to expect more, my mistake because it’s not the goal either from the ownership or management….. so came to terms will sit down and cheer my team (not WENGERS) to win as very Fan should do….soon enough I hope there will be a new direction for this team and we will start dreaming again for bigger things…..answering to the question…..NO Wenger can outclass MO unfortunately for us, missing tactics and football common sense so in my opinion he will not and worse he doesn’t care.
Arsene: “We turn young players into stars.” That was really the last thing Wenger had going for him, but even now he’s lost this argument. Let’s look at our recent youngsters
Ox: Has regressed since joining Arsenal, average player at best
Walcott: Supposed to be the next big thing, overpaid flop
Chambers: Has gotten worse since joining
Gibbs: Squad player, not lived up to potential
Wilshere: Not lived up to potential
Coquelin: One good season thus far
Jenkinson: Not lived up to potential
Sanogo:…
Ramsey: Good, not spectacular player
Bellerin: Only youngster that has excelled in any form recently
It just seems strange Wenger still has this great reputation. In reality Ozil, Sanchez, Koscielny have been carrying this team for the past couple of seasons. They’re surrounded by a bunch of average players who Wenger has failed to turn into stars. Majority of them are just overpaid and overrated.
Koscielny was 24 and wasn’t a star when he came to Arsenal. The rest of your post is pretty spot on.
Any team can beat any team but nt arsene team beat moruho’s team now, arsene Wenger av no WHR yo lead AFC to, just to collect his salary n pocket it. Enough of dis man. It earlier mr go or sack
Unless Wenger brings in a Top Class Striker and a CB Arsenal have a Cats Chance in Hell of beating Man Utd/ Man City/ Chelsea / Liverpool or Spurs.
Wenger should have got Zlatan Ibrahimovic he is on Fire for Man Utd 4 goals 2 Games. Mr Wenger said he was too Old I think this is just another one of Wengers Big Mistakes.
In a word “NO”……