Mourinho jumps to Hazard’s defence

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said Friday he will invite Petr Cech into his side’s dressing room whatever the outcome of this weekend’s Premier League match with Arsenal.

Wenger has notoriously struggled against Mourinho, winning just one of the last 14 meetings between teams managed by the pair and that came in the Community Shield clash earlier this season at Wembley.

The relationship between Wenger and Mourinho is frigid at the best, with the latter naming his colleague a specialist in failure.

“I do not consider too much where Chelsea stand. I focus on us performing well tomorrow morning”.

And when asked whether the handshake problem could flare up again or if he regretted the incident he added: I don’t want to talk about that.

“I don’t say that that victory was what we need now to win 15 matches in a row”.

“I am responsible for my actions and others are responsible for theirs”.

Speaking to BT Sport in his pre-match interview ahead of the lunchtime kick-off against Arsenal, the Portuguese coach confirmed that his club captain’s absence was not enforced.

“So for me he is the Arsenal keeper until the game ends”.

“It is a big game but let’s not forget it is the start of the season”. “I believe we can fix what happened”.

Indeed, he missed a penalty during Chelsea’s 4-0 win over Maccabu Tel-Aviv in the Champions League.

“We are in a position where we can perform tomorrow”.

“The fact we won [against Tel-Aviv] is important to get confidence ahead of the next game here at Stamford Bridge in front of our fans”.

“What you expect from these games is high intensity, full commitment and you want to prepare for that and play with full focus”.

Wenger is more concerned that there should be no hangover from the 2-1 midweek defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League after he made a number of changes. These players have a strong mentality and want to put things right.

Wenger revealed midfielder Jack Wilshere was set for an operation next week to help heal a hairline fracture in his leg. “The most important thing is the victory, which gives us confidence”.