There has never been what you would call a warm relationship between Arsenal and our London rivals, but when they started throwing the Russian Oligarch’s ill gotten gains around to buy the Premier League the rivalry ratcheted up a notch and then the clear enmity and regular baiting between Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger escalated things further.
So of courser it was painful to see Chelsea take the EPL trophy again last season and we can only hope that, just like the last time they won it during the second spell with Mourinho as the manager, they followed it up with a huge flop.
That might not seem all that likely but the way things are going this summer I can see some cracks appearing and the outspoken Italian is in danger of doing exactly what his predecessor did at Stamford Bridge. At the minute Conte is the blue eyed boy who can do no wrong, or at least he was after leading them to the title in his first season in English football.
However, there have already been issues like the one with Diego Costa and there are signs that the fans are starting to question some of his actions, like selling Matic to a direct rival in Man United or playing the new summer striker signing Alvaro Morata out on the wing in their last pre-season friendly.
What happened to Maureen just nine months after he lifted the trophy is clearly in the thoughts of Conte because he spoke last week about making sure that did not happen, but was that a big mistake? When you are working at a club well known for changing managers at the drop of a hat and you may not have the full backing of the dressing room, is it really a good idea to remind them how they got rid of the last one who was a club legend?
Can you see cracks forming at Chelsea? Can Arsenal fans hope that Conte does do a Mourinho this season?
Sam P.