We knew that it would not take long and with Arsenal due to face Chelsea in the Community Shield game at Wembley on Sunday before the Premier League season kicks off next weekend, Jose Mourinho has not been able to help himself from having a dig during one of his pre-season press conferences.
I very much doubt whether it will have raised anything but amusement in the Arsenal boss and the Chelsea coach will have to do a lot better if he is going to get under the skin of the Frenchman before the weekend. Mourinho had a go at our other Premier League rivals Man United, Liverpool and Man City a few days ago, showing an almost unbelievable cheek and hypocrisy by suggesting they were trying to buy the title.
Maybe someone pointed out that he had not mentioned Wenger or the Gunners though, because he has quickly moved to put that right, as reported by The Mirror, but his decision to use the spending of the respective clubs again is a pretty strange choice.
The Portuguese said, “If you add up the amounts the clubs have spent in the last three or four years I think maybe you will find a surprise.
“Get a calculator. That is one of the easiest things to do. It leaves no space for speculation. If you want to be honest, objective and pragmatic it is the easiest job for a manager or a journalist to do.
“They have bought a fantastic goalkeeper and that is a position which is very important in a team.
“If you put Ozil plus Sanchez, plus Chambers, plus Debuchy you will maybe find a surprise.”
Perhaps the Frenchman should give his rival a little present at Wembley; perhaps the calculator he was talking about, because Mourinho has not done his sums. In fact, since he returned to Stamford Bridge, Arsenal have spent £148 million which is not even two thirds of the £234 million spent by the Blues.
If he had stuck to the last 12 months then Mourinho maybe, just maybe, had a point. But is the world really supposed to forget all their previous spending and focus only on the present?
So not only was Mourinho wrong but trying to suggest what he did and to put extra pressure on Wenger and the players in their attempt to win the title tells me that he is worried. And that should be very good news for everyone connected with Arsenal.
Now let’s beat him at Wembley and watch Mourinho really start to lose it.