Arsenal considered appointing Jose Mourinho as manager but pulled the plug on any potential decision for one particular reason.
Arsenal might have appointed Jose Mourinho as manager but thrashed all thoughts on the matter because of Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners were strongly linked with the Portuguese before he later joined Tottenham in October 2019. It appears his constant swipes at Arsene Wenger and the Gunners fans eventually saw the club’s hierarchy decide against that call.
Arsenal had apparent struggles under Unai Emery last season and a Jose Mourinho with no club looked to be a good option for a replacement at the time.
However, Goal says the Gunners decided against going for the 57-year-old because of Wenger.
Mourinho regularly took swipes at the Frenchman during his time at both Chelsea and United. It led to a big and very much talked about rivalry between the two.
Their most famous saga came back in 2014 when they clashed on the touchline at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea thrashed Arsenal 6-0 in that game. On another occasion, Mourinho also tagged Wenger a ‘specialist in failure’.
All of that and his bad perception amongst the Gunners’ fanbase was enough to see the club decide against the move.
At the time, reports claimed the Portuguese was personally open to the idea of a move to the Emirates. He did know his selection would come as a controversial one no matter the circumstances.
But Mourinho is now very much with Gunners’ rivals Tottenham and will be looking to secure all three points when they lock horns on Sunday.
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