The Blues manager has yet to taste defeat in his 12 games against the Frenchman thus far, but he insists he sees no need to compete with the Gunners manager ahead of their clash

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has insisted he does not see Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger as a rival.

The two managers have a history of sharing jibes, but the Portuguese insists that he sees no need to compete with the Gunners boss as he prepares his side to face their London rivals this weekend.

“For me, he’s not my rival,” he told reporters. “I don’t feel that. He’s a manager of a big club in a city where I work and live with the same objectives.

“Because of that, there is always a bit of rivalry, but I don’t see Wenger as any different to the Atletico manager when I was with Real [Madrid].”

Mourinho has gone 12 games unbeaten against Wenger, but he insists that he is “not proud” of his record against the Frenchman.
 
“For me an achievement is to win tomorrow,” he added.

“It’s not the other 12 matches that we played before against Arsenal. I don’t look to this. I don’t look to numbers. I don’t look to what I did against this manager or that club.”

Chelsea can take a massive step towards the Premier League title with a win this weekend, and can move 13 points clear of the Gunners with a victory.