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The Chelsea manager claimed that Arsenal only started playing between January and April but the Gunners boss has now snapped back at the Portuguese in his pre-match media briefing
Arsene Wenger has taken a swipe at Jose Mourinho after the Chelsea manager criticised Arsenal’s season during a speech at the Blues’ end-of-season awards dinner.
The Portuguese suggested, in a bizarre speech that also taunted the two Manchester clubs, that Arsenal only played between January and April.
Wenger, though, hit back at Mourinho in his pre-FA Cup final media briefing, insisting that he pays little attention to the opinions of his rival.
“Forget his speech, and get to something else,” he told reporters. “I'm not interested in his speech.
“I just don't listen to what people say. I listen to the questions you ask to me and those I don't want to answer, I don't want to answer."
Wenger says he is intensely motivated to beat Aston Villa at Wembley, but confirmed that Danny Welbeck will be absent from the matchday squad, having sustained a setback in his recovery from a knee injury.
“I don’t know who will start yet, that’s not important, in the FA Cup final, just on the day who will start, what’s important is who will bring the trophy back,” he added.
Wenger could break a long-standing record this weekend if Arsenal emerge victorious at Wembley, becoming the manager with the most FA Cup trophy wins in England, but he says he is not focused solely on individual accolades.
“It’s difficult to get there,” he said. “The record, I like to beat records, but that’s not the most important thing on Saturday. The most important thing is we come back together and happy.
“I would love to do it. I’m not focused on that. I’m more focused on the fact we have fought so hard to get there. We went to Man United to get there, we had to win big games, now we want to win it.”
Source: Goal