Wenger and Mourinho trade blows again ahead of crunch match

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has ramped up his long-running war of words with Arsene Wenger, hitting back at criticism from his Arsenal counterpart.

Arsene Wenger (left) and Jose Mourinho (right) have engaged in numerous verbal jousts and there is no sign of let-up ahead of their next meeting on Monday (Getty) Source: Getty Images

Mourinho and Wenger have engaged in numerous verbal jousts during their time as Premier League rivals and there is no sign of any thaw in their frosty relationship ahead of their latest meeting at the Emirates Stadium on Monday (1am AEST).

Chelsea will be virtually assured of winning the English title if it defeats the second-placed Gunners, who already trail its London rival by 10 points with six games remaining.

But Wenger is unimpressed by several of Chelsea's recent narrow wins, claiming that "it is easy to defend."

That prompted a response from Mourinho at his own press conference later in the day.

The Portuguese boss, who once angered Wenger by labelling him a "voyeur", mocked Arsenal's surprise Champions League exit against Monaco this season and its manager's lack of a tactical master-plan.

"It's not easy (to defend). If it was easy, you wouldn't lose 3-1 at home to Monaco," Mourinho said.

"If he defends well he draws 0-0 against Monaco and wins in Monte Carlo. It's not easy to prepare a team to defend."

Although his caustic criticism of Wenger suggested otherwise, Mourinho insisted he doesn't care how people view his Chelsea team.

"It matters what I feel, not what people feel, think or say. I don't care about other things," Mourinho added.

"We are the best team since day one and we want to be the best team until the last day. But, mathematically, they (Arsenal) can still be champions."