Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho (left)  had called his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger a “specialist in failure”

By Patrick Barclay/The Evening Standard


He didn’t mean to do it — just lost his cool for a couple of seconds — but when Jose Mourinho called Arsene Wenger a “specialist in failure” it had the effect of a mind game in which the only loser could be himself.
It was a potential own-goal, a hostage to fortune that the Chelsea manager might not have offered had he taken his time and remembered that Wenger’s Arsenal had yet to visit Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
That lunchtime match is now 12 days away and has acquired a momentous air. That it will be Wenger’s 1,000th match in charge of Arsenal helps. As does the possibility that defeat would, in effect, end their challenge for the title. But the pressure will not be concentrated on Wenger.
Not now. Not since St Valentine’s Day when Mourinho, responding to Wenger’s contention that other managers were playing down their title chances because they “fear to fail”, made his jibe, pointing out that Arsenal had not won a trophy since 2005. So they, and Wenger, will arrive at the Bridge as confirmed losers — the only way is up.
It will be interesting to see if Mourinho seeks to backtrack in the build-up to the fixture, which will begin in earnest as soon as Chelsea have completed what they hope will be a Champions League victory over Galatasaray — the sides drew 1-1 in Istanbul — next week.
In the meantime, Chelsea, whose crushing of an almost comically unlucky Tottenham on Saturday gave them an all-the-more-convincing look of champions, travel to Aston Villa at the weekend, while Arsenal, having probably exited Europe in Munich, face Spurs at White Hart Lane. But there are reasons for Wenger to be cautiously optimistic.
One is the FA Cup. Whatever happens over the next few weeks, the triumph over Everton ensured that Arsenal’s season will remain very much alive until mid-April at least.
Another is the way the fixtures are falling. Arsenal will have more time than their opponents to prepare for the collisions with both Spurs — who meet Benfica in the Europa League less than three days before the derby — and Chelsea.

Mourinho’s words may come to haunt him
And, if they are still in Premier League contention when they arrive in SW6, Mourinho’s words may come to haunt him. He will be asked if he does, in fact, have a “fear” — of losing his remarkable unbeaten home record in the League, which now stretches to 75 Chelsea matches and be obliged to show nonchalance in denying it, arguing (as he has done before) that the record is more significant than the near-inevitability of its ending.
Wenger will be able to sit back and rely on his players, to see how they respond to the claim that they are a bunch of losers led by a failure. As long as he manages football teams — even if he does another 1,000 matches with Arsenal — he will never have an easier task of motivation. Mourinho has already performed this aspect of his work for him.
I still fancy Chelsea for the Premier League title. I still think the brilliance of their manager will be recognised as a key factor in that. And Mourinho is being typically clever in insisting that he’d rather be in Manuel Pellegrini’s position because Manchester City, by winning their remaining 12 matches this season even if Chelsea win their nine, can keep their fate in their hands.
But wouldn’t it be reassuring evidence of the Special One’s fallibility if, by tempting Chelsea’s fate with his slur on Wenger, he helped to keep the title race going to the very last day?
For the time being, fortune continues to smile on Mourinho and his superbly drilled, uniquely balanced, contenders. Tim Sherwood’s side deserved equality for 55 minutes only to be let down by their studs; they kept falling over and conceding goals. But Chelsea, in capitalising on errors and Younes Kaboul’s red card, were wonderfully ruthless.