Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has told Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho that he should stop complaining about being unable to match the spending power of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Wenger has insisted he has “learned to cope” with battling richer rivals during his 21 years in charge of the Gunners.
A frustrated Mourinho reacted to his side’s 2-2 Old Trafford draw with Burnley by insisting United must increase their spending to catch runaway leaders City.
United have spent around £285 million since Mourinho took the Old Trafford helm in 2016, compared to City’s £360m over the same time period under Pep Guardiola’s tenure.
When asked about Mourinho’s comments at a news conference on Wendesday, Wenger suggested his United counterpart may simply have to accept that his side cannot match City’s riches.
“I have been in that position for 21 years so I can’t start to complain now,” Wenger said of Mourinho’s frustrations with Manchester City flexing their financial muscles. “There have always been three or four teams richer than I am. I’ve learned to cope with that.
“We deal with our own situation as well as we can. Man City, Chelsea and Man United are all richer than us. You have to find ways to be successful.”
United’s Portuguese boss Mourinho — who in the past has called Wenger a “specialist in failure” for not winning a league title since 2004 — had reacted to his side’s rallying draw with Burnley by insisting the Old Trafford club must increase their spending to return to the top of the world game.
A Jesse Lingard double salvaged a point for United, but an irked Mourinho later bemoaned City’s free-spending approach, heaping pressure on his own club’s board in the process.
“Manchester City buy full-backs for the price of strikers,” Mourinho said. When it was pointed out that United have spent heavily during his Old Trafford tenure, Mourinho continued: “OK, [but] it is not enough.”