Don’t push me! Arsene Wenger has 'no regrets' after touchline tussle with Jose Mourinho

ARSENE WENGER was unrepentant after shoving Jose Mourinho in the chest during Arsenal's 2-0 defeat by leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

 STUART ROBINSON

Pushy Arsene Wenger feels the pulling power of Jose Mourinho

The Arsenal boss marched into Mourinho's technical area after a bad tackle by Gary Cahill on Alexis Sanchez and the pair clashed. The two managers refused to shake hands at the end of the game, as the bad blood between the pair continued.

And it also spilled over to the coaches, with Gunners No2 Steve Bould telling Chelsea assistant Rui Faria to "shut your gob".

Wenger who has never beaten Mourinho in 12 attempts said: "I don't regret it [the push]. What is there to regret? I wanted to go from A to B and somebody confronted me before B without any sign of welcome.

"B was Sanchez, to see how badly he was injured. Honestly, I don't listen to what he says. You would see if I really try to push [you]. Come on."

Asked if it sets the right image for the game, senior managers clashing in such a high-profile game, Wenger said: "I trust you to teach me all the moral lessons in the next two weeks and I can accept that. I'm long enough in the game to see things the right way."

A penalty from Eden Hazard and a ninth goal in seven games from Diego Costa took Chelsea five points clear at the top of the table.

Wenger explains why he pushed Mourinho [AMBIENT]

Mourinho, who grabbed Wenger's tie in the tussle, also played down the incident, with neither manager set to face an FA investigation as the matter was dealt with by referee Martin Atkinson and fourth official Jon Moss at the time.

Mourinho said: "It becomes heated because it's a big game, big clubs, big rivals, an important match for both teams. I think these conditions make a game of emotions.

"After that, there are two technical areas. One for me, one for him. He was coming into my technical area and not for the right reasons, to give some technical instructions.

"He was coming to push the referee for a red card and I didn't like that. But I think Moss did a good job.

"He did well, Jonathan Moss. And Atkinson did well too. But to be fair, I do so many wrong things in football, sometimes you lose emotion, but not this time.

"This time I was just in my technical area and it was not my problem. Story over."

No apology to Wenger - Mourinho [AMBIENT]

There may be calls for more safeguards regarding head injuries, however, after Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was injured in a collision with Alexis Sanchez.

After treatment he carried on, but then fell to the turf and had to be replaced with blood coming out of his right ear.

Mourinho played down the episode saying Courtois had gone to hospital for tests as a precaution.

He has a light concussion, but will spend the night in hospital for observation, as is standard procedure in such cases.

"There is nothing to be worried about it," said Mourinho. "On the bench I don't communicate with the doctors. I just get decisions. Can he stay? Yes. He has to leave? OK. No time to discuss, no medical qualities to discuss. They said yes at first, then after that no.

"I was just worried for the kid. Was the decision rushed? I have nothing to say on that."

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