They are the “Special One” and the “specialist in failure”. The league leader and the man who could be nine points behind him on Sunday.
They are also the manager in the longest trophy drought of his career and May’s FA Cup winner.
Whichever way you look at them, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger are opposites. They have been since the Portuguese came to England, identified the Frenchman – rather than Sir Alex Ferguson – as his major target and set about reshaping the pecking order.
If Ferguson against Mourinho used to be the oldest major managerial rivalry in England, now it is the Frenchman and the Portuguese, the two most influential imports from Europe. There is no doubt who has the upper hand.
Wenger was at the peak of his powers when Mourinho first arrived on English shores in 2004. His “Invincibles” had become the first side since the Preston North End team of 1888/89 to complete a league season unbeaten.
The Portuguese then knocked them off their perch, deposing them as champions. Arsenal have never returned to the summit.
Wenger’s reign can be divided into two halves, before and after Jose.
Arsenal’s 2004 league title was the Frenchman’s third in seven seasons. There have been none since, with only two FA Cups, separated by nine years, prompting Mourinho’s “specialist in failure” jibe.
It is typical that it was the Chelsea manager, with his eye for a memorable phrase, who coined the nicknames for both of them. It is also notable that while many of Mourinho’s comments are laced with wit, there is a striking lack of humour where Wenger is concerned.
He branded the veteran a “voyeur” in 2007. It was a comment that demeaned Mourinho.
He objects when the older man heads for the moral high ground, whether on the subject of money or managerial methods, and has lashed out.
He has identified himself as the anti-Wenger, the guarantee of trophies. The Arsenal manager is defined by, and has defined himself as a result of, Mourinho.
The upstart’s appointment in 2004 marked the beginning of the era of the super-rich. The rules of the game changed. Roman Abramovich had initially coveted Wenger, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry and failed to prise any away from Highbury.
But star players started to leave, a sign Arsenal was no longer the ultimate as Mourinho’s Chelsea won back-to-back titles and Wenger rebranded himself.
He built youthful, aesthetically pleasing teams on a budget. The winner became the economist. He delivered more value for money than anyone else, but less silverware than his peers.
Chelsea, and Mourinho’s Chelsea in particular, became his nemesis.
Since 2005, Arsenal have won four and lost 14 of 23 meetings. Wenger has never beaten Mourinho in 11 attempts and the first side the Portuguese constructed continued to torment Arsenal long after his 2007 sacking.
In particular, a definitive Mourinho player did. Didier Drogba was exceptional against Arsenal, his force and physicality seeming to show up their callowness, their habit of losing big games and their lack of ruthlessness.
Philippe Senderos had his confidence and credibility destroyed time and again by Drogba. He became emblematic of the young players Wenger trusted for too long, despite mounting evidence they were not improving and would never quite be good enough.
One of the prodigies Wenger identified and promoted has defected from north London to west, albeit via Barcelona.
Cesc Fabregas represents Mourinho’s fondness for buying proven players while Wenger often invests in emerging and improving talents.
Some of their most chastening days have come against Chelsea. March’s 6-0 defeat was Wenger’s joint heaviest loss. It was Mourinho’s biggest Blues win. An extreme scoreline highlighted how different they are.
The Frenchman has a decade of reasons to dread a return to Stamford Bridge on Sunday and a reunion with the man who changed his career, from Wenger’s perspective, for the worse.
sports@thenational.ae
