Wenger's great spats in 'farci-land'

Arsene Wenger welcomed Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho to English football in August with the words: "It should be fun. Jose seems to like a bit of sparring - and so do I."

The Arsenal manager, whose catchphrase of "I didn't see the incident" became famous, has enjoyed a few verbal knockabouts in his eight years at Arsenal, particularly with rivals at Manchester United. Here are a few highlights of his measured moaning:

. . . ON PATRICK VIEIRA'S DETRACTORS after the Frenchman was sent off at West Ham for spitting at Neil Ruddock in 1999 :"Some players get away with things that are far more dangerous than what Patrick did. In English football, the players who react get punished. And they are punished by TV evidence. So why are the provokers not punished by TV evidence? Just because they talk nicely in the newspapers?"

. . . AFTER SOL CAMPBELL was charged for reacting to United star Eric Djemba-Djemba's challenge in the 2003 Community Shield: "This is farcical that Sol has been cited. It seems to me we are living in farci-land."

. . . ALEX FERGUSON has been wound up in a multitude of ways by Wenger's deadpan putdowns, but the comment that infuriated the Scot the most was in 2002 when Wenger responded to the claim that Manchester United were still England's best team by saying: "Everyone thinks he has the prettiest wife."

. . . ON RUUD VAN NISTELROOY and the improper conduct charge Wenger faces over calling him a cheat: "It's not right you should always be politically correct."