Mourinho "borrows" Fabregas to mock Wenger and Arsenal

"The Special One" once again took a swipe at his colleagues and opponents on the occasion of Fabregas and Chelsea's return to Emirates Stadium to play the London derby in round 34 of the Premier League today, April 26.

Fabregas left Barcelona and returned to London in the summer of 2014. But in his return to English football, he decided to join Stamford Bridge instead of the Emirates - where he made his name from 2003 to 2011 and was once appointed captain by coach Wenger.

Fabregas (number 4) will return to Emirates today, the place that was the launching pad that helped him reach the ranks of world-class stars, to face his old team Arsenal.

This Sunday will be the first time the Spanish playmaker returns to Arsenal's home turf in the Premier League since he left the Gunners to return to his homeland to play for Barca in 2011. Fabregas' Chelsea are now very close to winning the Premier League, while Arsenal only have a slim hope of a miracle turning the season around.

"I know why Fabregas chose Chelsea," Mourinho said before Sunday's big match.

The Portuguese coach added: "I don't know why he didn't choose to return to Arsenal. I only know what we promised him and what he promised us. I can't talk about why he left Arsenal, what made him not return there. I don't know if it was his own decision or the decision of the Arsenal coach. With Chelsea, we promised him a team built on a style of play that suited his ability and his qualities. We talked about good projects that go hand in hand with titles and he is looking for that too."

Mourinho always knows how to heat up the atmosphere and provoke opponents before big matches like when Chelsea visited Arsenal today. Photo: AFP.

Fabregas will almost certainly face a tense reception at his old haunt, but Mourinho believes the former Arsenal captain deserves the same warm welcome Chelsea fans gave him when Frank Lampard returned to Stamford Bridge earlier this year.

Mourinho said: "I'm not worried about the reception of Fabregas at Arsenal. Frank Lampard played when he came back to Stamford Bridge without any problems, and received a good reception. I don't see any reason why Fabregas shouldn't get the same treatment at the Emirates. But he has to be ready for anything."

Wenger has never beaten a team managed by Mourinho in 12 encounters, and the Portuguese strategist does not consider the French coach an important opponent.

The confrontations between Wenger and Mourinho are always tense, to the point where the two are ready to push each other on the side of the track. Photo: SM.

"For me, he is not a rival. I don't feel that. He is the coach of a big club in the same city where I work and live. It is a big club with some of the same objectives as us. So there is always a little rivalry between us. But for me, it is no different when I am the coach of Inter, or at Real Madrid compared to the coaches of Atletico, or when I am at Porto compared to the coaches of Benfica. For me, the main achievement is winning tomorrow. Not the 12 games we played against Arsenal. I don't look at the numbers. I don't pay attention to what I did with this coach or that club. That is not a problem for me. I don't think the players know about it, unless they watch TV or read all the newspapers. I don't think the players care about those details. Each game is separate and has nothing to do with the previous one," Mourinho added.

According to VnExpress