Chelsea FC manager Jose Mourinho has stated that he would be delighted if Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League.
The Gunners still hold their European fate in their own hands but they would require a massive effort if they are to progress. Their victory over Dinamo Zagreb a few days ago means that their final Group Stage clash with Olympiakos needs to yield nothing less than three points.
The Blues boss, though, has stated that he would like to see the Greek outfit dump Arsene Wenger’s men out of the competition. To be fair to Mourinho, he does cite a reason other than general distaste for the neighbours.
"They are in a group where a kid friend of mine is the manager of Olympiakos and it would be fantastic for the kid’s career to go through. So I have to be honest and say that I would like the kid and Olympiakos to go on, and we know that Bayern go through for sure."
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While this a perfectly justifiable reason to want such a scenario to occur, the more cynical among us will claim that Mourinho is using this relationship as a guise to hide a burning hatred for the North London club.
The Chelsea and Arsenal managers have developed quite a fiery relationship throughout the years. This has reached the point at which clashes between their respective clubs are sometimes overshadowed by excitement over the brewing animosity off the field.
This latest jibe directed at the Gunners is likely to draw anger from their fans. As evidenced by their domination over Twitter polls, Arsenal fans are some of the most blindly passionate in the Premier League. They stand by the club (and their manager) and they appear to take any insult or joke personally.
Undoubtedly, you will have a friend who supports Arsenal and undoubtedly, he or she will moan to you about Mourinho’s choice of words today.
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However, for the rest of us, the verbal jousting between the pair is simply a highly-entertaining side-show and a distraction that Blues fans will welcome given their woeful form.
Chelsea may have put together back-to-back wins, but with them coming against Norwich City and Maccabi Tel-Aviv (and with the latter being wholly unconvincing) there is little to cheer about.
The Blues travel to White Hart Lane this Sunday for a derby clash with Tottenham Hotspur. On top of the mutual hatred between both sets of supporters, there is an added subplot regarding Harry Kane.
The striker has recently been linked with a Stamford Bridge move in the summer and thus all eyes will be on the Englishman as he attempts to continue his scintillating form.
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Which team do you reckon Arsenal fans will be cheering?
All quotes taken from the Daily Mirror.