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Mourinho can't resist a dig 
at Arsenal and Wenger

United boss says it's not 'normal' Arsene took so long to finally beat him in the EPL

Jose Mourinho took another swipe at Arsene Wenger and made fun of Arsenal's fans after Manchester United were beaten 2-0 by the Gunners yesterday morning (Singapore time).

Wenger celebrated his first Premier League win over Mourinho at the 13th attempt after goals from Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck kept Arsenal's Champions League qualification hopes alive.

Asked what he thought of Arsenal finally tasting victory against him, Mourinho said: "It's a big club. You think I enjoy a big club like Arsenal not winning big trophies? I am not enjoying that, honestly.

"But today I tried to win. I didn't give them the match, I tried to win, but we lost.

"Arsene Wenger is a big manager so to have that record of winning so many matches and losing so many matches is something that is not normal.

"Normal is win, lose, draw. It's not normal and I really don't care about it. Today, no problem - we shook hands before the game, we shook hands after the game.

"And, during the game, I didn't like what I never like, he puts too much pressure on the fourth official all the time."

Arsenal fans taunted Mourinho in the latter stages of their victory, which puts the Gunners six points behind Manchester City, with one game in hand, and seven back on Liverpool having played two games fewer than the Reds.

"The Arsenal fans, they are happy," Mourinho said.

"I am happy for them, it is the first time I leave Highbury or Emirates and they are happy.

"I left Highbury, they were crying, I left Emirates, they were crying. They were walking the streets with their heads low.

"So finally today they sing, they (swing) the scarves - it's nice for them."

"Arsene Wenger is a big manager so to have that record of winning so many matches and losing so many matches is something that is not normal."Jose Mourinho

IMPOSSIBLE

Mourinho said that defeat meant it would now be "impossible" for United to finish in the top four, insisting his team's chances of playing in Europe's premier competition next season now rest entirely on winning the Europa League.

Eight changes to United's starting line-up at the Emirates Stadium certainly pointed to Mourinho's focus on Friday morning's semi-final, second-leg tie at home to Celta Vigo. United hold a 1-0 advantage from the first leg.

"Of course, we knew we were not coming in our maximum power. That's a decision," Mourinho said.

"We want to try to win the Europa League. It's more important than finishing fourth. We needed to rest players.

"I'm disappointed with the result, not the performance. We lost because we didn't score and we had great chances to score before them.

"They had luck with that first goal. I can't ask any more from my players who haven't played a minute for several weeks.

"The team was good, organised, we played to win and Arsenal weren't better than us in my opinion."

Wenger believes that Arsenal's season is gaining belated momentum after victories over Manchester City, Leicester City and now Man United.

Once again, they are putting together a late-season dash up the table, with a top-four finish still possible.

"Mathematically, it is still possible, but now, we need some help from the teams around us," he said. - WIRE SERVICES

eplJose Mourinhoarsene wenger