Mourinho Out To Close Gap

Jose Mourinho knows no trophies are handed out in November but the Manchester United manager is nevertheless keen for his side to close the gap on Arsenal with victory on Saturday.

Ahead of the lunchtime encounter at Old Trafford, the Reds are six points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, who are unbeaten since the opening weekend of the season, in the Premier League table.

While it’s too early for any result to have a significant bearing on the title race, Mourinho is naturally determined to ensure the Gunners’ 10-year winless league run at United is extended.

"I always think the end of December is a good moment to look and see where you are, to see the differences to the top and bottom of the league, to see the perspective for the second half of the season," the boss told MUTV. 

"We are in mid-November but we know Arsenal have six points more than us. We know the distance tomorrow can be three, six or nine and obviously nine would be bad, and three would be perfect. Old Trafford will be full of emotion as always, so expectations are high for a big game."

United and Arsenal are, of course, famous old rivals who had a duopoly on the title for nine years from 1996 to 2004, the year Mourinho arrived at Chelsea to end that dominance by winning the league in his first two seasons.

The Portuguese manager has regularly come up against Arsene Wenger since then and is unbeaten in 13 league and cup ties against the Gunners boss, winning seven and drawing six.

Mourinho insists that record will have no impact on Saturday’s game but accepts the teams’ past rivalry means the fixture has an enduring appeal.

"Every match is an isolated event – it has nothing to do with now," he said. "Mr Wenger was a different manager in 2004 to now; I was a different manager to now. The teams are completely different; he and I don’t have one single player from that time – most of them are retired.

"So now it’s just a big game between two of the best teams in the country. Rivalry is not just historical – it’s about rivals for titles, and for a decade it was just between United and Arsenal. United were dominant but Arsenal had a period when they won titles, where they were unbeatable and so on.

"Everything was bigger in that period and it has kept on for the last 15 or 20 years. I think everybody likes that. The players are professional and know how to behave, so I don’t think that’s a problem. I think the rivalry can only affect the game in a positive way."

Saturday’s clash is the first in a run of four consecutive home games for United, who also face Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday, before a league and EFL Cup double-header against West Ham United.

"Feyenoord is crucial – we cannot lose the match or we are out of the Europa League," Mourinho added. "West Ham is crucial because if we win, we are in the semi-finals and if we lose, we are out. And in between, we have Arsenal and West Ham in the Premier League, two good teams. 

"These are big matches and, honestly, in spite of being very unlucky at home – because I don’t remember being as unlucky as we were against Stoke and Burnley – I love to play at Old Trafford. 

"I love the passion and the support of the people. So with four matches at home, we must feel at home and we’ll go at them and try to win the matches."