JOSE Mourinho insists he has buried the hatchet with his old enemy Arsene Wenger, but admits the Arsenal boss will be pleased that Manchester United are playing a weakened team at the Emirates on Sunday.
The two men have a history of bad blood in English football, with Mourinho famously describing the Frenchman as ‘a specialist in failure’.
But the United boss revealed that they shook hands away from the cameras when Arsenal snatched a late draw at Old Trafford in November and he now considers the matter closed.
‘He doesn’t need to make peace,’ said Mourinho. ‘He doesn’t need to because there are no problems.
‘In the last match at Old Trafford, we shook hands before and after. I remember that I still met him in the corridor for the press conferences, and we shook hands again.
‘When there is peace, we don’t have to have problem. I am a big boy, I’m in football all my life. I know a problem on the pitch, the next day is not a problem at all. So for me not a problem at all.’
Publicly, at least, Mourinho insists that United’s hopes of finishing in the top-four were ended by last weekend’s draw at home to Swansea City – even though they only trail fourth-placed Manchester City by one point.
He has promised to be ‘human’ towards the players who took part in United’s 58th game of the season against Celta Vigo on Thursday night and make changes against Arsenal who can move within two points of their opponents with a game in hand if they win.
Mourinho claims that he cannot jeopardise United’s hopes of reaching the Europa League final when they play Celta in the second leg at Old Trafford four days later holding a slender 1-0 lead.
‘I think he (Wenger) will be really pleased with me that I am going to change my team against Arsenal,’ said Mourinho. ‘I think he’ll be really happy with me.
‘We have to be human with the players. We have to be sensible and (use) common sense in relation to our situation in the Premier League. I think the last match against Swansea was our last chance to fight for top-four, so I am going to rest players, sure.
‘We are going to try. We are not going to Arsenal to say “beat us” or “beat us 5 or 6-0”. We are going there to fight for a result.
‘But it’s impossible. I cannot do it in another way. If Celta were playing with their best team, if Celta were fighting for important things in La Liga, we would go in the same circumstances.
‘But I cannot now play with the same team that played in Spain and then repeat again next Thursday.’
Marcus Rashford, United’s goalscorer against Celta, played with a slight knee problem in Spain and Ashley Young suffered a hamstring injury after coming on as a substitute.
Mourinho is already without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw and Timothy Fosu-Mensah through injury while Marouane Fellaini is suspended.
There was better news for United with Chris Smalling returning after a nine-game absence. Juan Mata and Phil Jones are fit again, Wayne Rooney is available and Mourinho could call on teenage centre-back Axel Tuanzebe.
David De Gea will play in goal despite another impressive performance by Sergio Romero against Celta, and Mourinho added: ‘I don’t like to say this competition is for that goalkeeper, this competition for another one.
‘I don’t like that complete separation. So Sunday, David plays. We have two fantastic goalkeepers. We have a third goalkeeper (Joel Pereira) that I think will be the best Portuguese goalkeeper of the next generation, so anyone in goal I trust completely.
SOURCE: BBC SPORT
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