Mourinho: I don't get respect that Wenger does

Jose Mourinho thinks he's hard done by, as Arsene Wenger apparently earns all the plaudits for his long-term tenure at Arsenal, he gets "no respect."

The Portuguese welcomes his French counterpart to his new workplace of Old Trafford on Saturday for a renewal of rivalries between Manchester United and the Gunners, but also - perhaps most notably - a rehashing of the historically prickly exchanges between Mourinho and Wenger.

The pair were often at the centre of warring words and touchline tussles during Mourinho's days at Chelsea.

"My record against any other manager is not important," Mourinho told BBC Sport, referring to winning seven and drawing six of his competitive English fixtures against Wenger.

"What you get, you do it as a team. In the Premier League - just Premier League - tomorrow is a match between two managers with the best record. Six or seven titles.

"Should we be respected even in periods when our results are not that best? I think Mr. Wenger gets that. I don't think I do even though my last Premier League title was 18 months ago. No respect."

Mourinho trying to cast himself as the unfortunate component of this long-running spat will come as some surprise to Premier League followers, particularly given that he's previously branded Wenger as "a voyeur" and a "specialist in failure."

Related: The best of Jose Mourinho vs. Arsene Wenger

As has been his off-field tactic in the past, it may simply be a ploy to deflect attention away from his United side - which sits below expectations in sixth and some eight points short of league leader Liverpool after 11 matches - ahead of what's sure to be a stern test from Arsenal.

Mourinho also refused to discuss the controversy on Wayne Rooney's late-night antics during England duty, and says his captain is keen to feature in the weekend's clash.