Football: Arteta hurt by Mourinho 'failure' jibe

Arsenal's Mikel Arteta applauds the fans as he is substituted during their English Premier League soccer match against West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates stadium in London on May 4, 2014. Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta has admitted that he wa
Arsenal's Mikel Arteta applauds the fans as he is substituted during their English Premier League soccer match against West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates stadium in London on May 4, 2014. Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta has admitted that he was hurt when his manager Arsene Wenger was branded a "specialist in failure" by Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho. -- FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

LONDON (AFP) - Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta has admitted that he was hurt when his manager Arsene Wenger was branded a "specialist in failure" by Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho.

Arsenal face Hull City in the FA Cup final on Saturday, when they will be bidding to end a nine-year trophy drought.

Mourinho was referring to Wenger's failure to win a trophy since 2005 when he made his remark in February, which the Frenchman described as "silly" and "disrespectful".

While Wenger refused to be drawn into a war of words with Mourinho, Arteta says that he was stung by the Portuguese's comments.

"If, for you, success is only to win a trophy, it doesn't matter how, then I think he (Wenger) is the way he (Mourinho) is saying," the Spaniard said, in comments reported by several British newspapers on Friday.

"If you analyse everything he has done for the club, then if he is a failure, I have a different opinion.

"I don't like it when someone criticises my team-mates, the staff, the manager, the club, because I see what he does every day to look after this club.

"When they are right, maybe you can accept, everybody makes mistakes. You can criticise the manager, whoever, but when it comes in a certain moment in a certain way, I don't like it."

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