Jose Mourinho: ‘Arsenal defeat would be bad’

But the 31-year-old is nonetheless expected to start on the bench against Arsenal, having been forced to withdraw from global duty with a minor knee injury.

Mourinho won the last of his three Premier League titles at Chelsea last May, but feels Wenger continues to enjoy more respect for his achievements after two decades in English football.

Mourinho said: “Even if you build a wall around you to protect you from what people write or think, it always has points of fragility”.

On Shaw, he said: “He worked well in this period where we had a very small group, which is not the best but he worked really well”. We are flesh and blood so I think it has an effect.

With records seemingly against Wenger, he has been keen to point out the 3-2 loss nine months ago – albeit damaging to Arsenal’s ultimately forlorn title ambitions – remains their only defeat away from home in the league in this calendar year.

“I do not make of these games a competition between two managers, it’s between two clubs and two teams”.

“Honestly, I think there was a Wayne before the Slovakia-England and a Wayne after Slovakia-England, ” Mourinho said at the time. I could have been working at some of the biggest clubs in Europe. I waited for this chance.

“I won at every club, I was champion in every club, I won cups with every club”.

Cahill has been part of a Chelsea side who have won their last five Premier League matches without conceding and bet365 go 80-1 the Blues claim victories to nil in their next four games to equal Manchester United’s record.

Mourinho has clearly been stung by the criticism he’ has received following Manchester United’s faltering start under his command amid suggestions he has lost his magic touch.

While Mourinho said Rooney would be “ready” for Saturday’s game against Arsenal after withdrawing from England duty with a minor knee injury, he conceded the furore had affected his captain.

“What happened in the national team, happened in the national team. I have three, he has three or four”, Mourinho told Friday’s pre-match press conference.

The rivalry between the two managers have been quite heated at times, but Wenger played down the importance of him getting a competitive win over Mourinho (his only win over Mourinho came in the Community Shield in 2015). His way of publicly criticizing players seems like an extremely bad move, and it could turn the squad against him unless they start putting up results. “But national team is a different chapter and a chapter that is closed now until I think March or the end of February”.

Chris Smalling is still a doubt in defence, which means we could see a central defence partnership of Phil Jones and Daley Blind.

Mourinho had appeared to criticise Smalling and Luke Shaw in the wake of the 3-1 win at Swansea City 12 days ago by suggesting neither player had been prepared to risk their fitness, but the Portuguese would only offer an update on Shaw’s condition.