Jose Mourinho Maintains His Superiority over Arsene Wenger in Stalemate

The long wait goes on. After 13 encounters, Arsene Wenger has yet to record a win over Jose Mourinho.

Although this match finished as a draw, Mourinho will mark this off as another victory in his personal duel with Wenger. The Chelsea boss clearly came to the Emirates Stadium hoping to get the draw that would continue his course towards the title and maintain his superiority over his French counterpart.

From the minute the starting line-ups emerged, Chelsea’s strategy was clear. They named an XI without a recognised striker, hoping to soak up pressure and suffocate Arsenal in midfield. They occasionally threatened on the counter-attack, but that was not their priority. Chelsea came to Arsenal to claim a shutout, and they enacted that plan to perfection.

The game’s subplot surrounded Cesc Fabregas, who played at the Emirates Stadium for the first time since signing for Chelsea.

On his return to the Emirates Stadium, it was no surprise that Fabregas chose to wear a mask. Anonymity was always the safest bet for a player who’s decision to join another London club has clearly hurt the Arsenal fans. Despite his disguise, the crowd latched on to his identity early on and made their displeasure clear. 

Fabregas almost exacted the perfect revenge when he played a brilliant through ball over the top of the Arsenal defence for Oscar to run on to. The Brazilian lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper before being taken out by David Ospina. As the ball bounced towards goal, Hector Bellerin exhibited his remarkable recovery speed to chase back and make a vital headed clearance.

Chelsea’s disappointment was secondary to their anger at the referee’s decision to overlook what they felt was a clear foul by Ospina. Goalkeepers are regularly afforded special protection by referees, and this certainly felt like one such occasion.

Although that chance came and went, it was not long before Fabregas was the centre of attention once again. This time, an exaggerated tumble over the outstretched leg of compatriot Santi Cazorla. The Arsenal fans cheered as the referee waved the yellow card for simulation.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Somewhat surprisingly, that was not the only time in the game Fabregas met with a favourable response. When he was withdrawn in the closing minutes, the initial chorus of boos was drowned out by respectful applause.  

There was no such show of deference to Mourinho, but privately many Arsenal fans must admire his ability to grind out results in these elite clashes. 

Wenger will be pleased his team never lost their focus or defensive discipline—in previous years they might have lost a game as tight as this.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

However, he’ll also be enormously frustrated that he still can’t find a way to beat Mourinho. Arsenal came into this game with incredible momentum behind them, yet they could not batter down Chelsea’s organised defence. A previously unstoppable force came up against a stubborn immovable object.

This was a chance for Arsenal to make a bold statement, but by full-time the Chelsea fans had drowned them out. Defeating Mourinho remains an insurmountable hurdle for Wenger and Arsenal.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.