Jose Mourinho Says Arsenal Match Not a Must-Win for Manchester United

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho said Saturday's clash with Arsenal is not a must-win game for his side during his press conference on Friday, despite his team trailing Manchester City by eight points in the Premier League.

According to the Mirror's David McDonnell, Mourinho likened the title race to the famous rivalry between tennis legends John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg:

"I play a game at a time. I play a game at a time and is the way to do it, is the way to do it.

"Yesterday I was watching an interesting movie, Borg vs. McEnroe, and Borg's coach was telling him that all the time: 'one point at a time, think about just one point.'

"I tell my players to just think about the game. It's just the game, it's Arsenal, we don't think about how many points we are behind, it's just Arsenal.

"It's difficult enough for us to be focused on other things, so just focus on this."

City have taken just 14 matches to reach 40 points, having only failed to win in the league once this season—a draw with Everton early in the campaign.

While United are City's closest rivals and perhaps the only side capable of catching them, they are still quite a bit behind.

The Premier League shared the standings after the midweek round of fixtures:

Nevertheless, Mourinho appears to be relaxed, per Marca's Chris Winterburn:

Devoid of context, a failure to win at Arsenal is hardly a disaster, particularly given the Gunners have won their past 12 league games at the Emirates Stadium.

However, should United draw or lose, City's lead over them will be into double figures if the Premier League leaders beat West Ham United on Sunday.

Despite Mourinho's view on the game, he has vowed to attack Arsenal, saying:

"When we have the ball, we are going to attack with 11 players because the goalkeeper knows what to do when we have the ball, and when Arsenal have the ball, we will defend with 11.

"It depends with what you think about risk. I think in the beginning of football, the guy who decides to say defenders, attackers, this guy was bad, because everybody has to defend and attack, especially in modern football."

The Special One has faced criticism for his approach to big away games this season, particularly when United played Liverpool in October. Despite the Reds' vulnerable defence, Mourinho adopted a cautious approach and came away with a 0-0 draw.

The Mail on Sunday's Oliver Holt gave his take on Mourinho's tactics in that game after Liverpool lost 4-1 to Tottenham Hotspur the following weekend:

Arsenal aren't quite as porous at the back as Liverpool, but they have only conceded two fewer goals than the Merseyside outfit in the league this year.

With United facing City in their next home Premier League game—a match that could leave the Red Devils just two points behind them or as many as 14 back, depending on results—a win against the Gunners is critical.