Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho can't resist sly dig at Arsenal after Arsene Wenger finally tastes victory

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho claimed his first defeat to Arsene Wenger was the first time he had ever seen Arsenal fans happy.

The Gunners ran out comfortable 2-0 winners over a much-changed United side with one eye on Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg.

It represented Wenger’s first competitive victory over the Special One at the 15th attempt as Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck found the net at the Emirates.

Mourinho seemed in relatively good spirits after the loss in north London but couldn’t resist having a sly dig at his old rival and the fans who often taunt him.

Mourinho said: “Finally I leave this stadium with Arsenal fans happy. It’s the first time I see them smile and enjoy. They deserve it because they are an amazing club.

“We made eight changes. We made eight. Of course, we knew we were not coming in our maximum power. That’s a decision. We want to try to win the Europa Leaue – it’s more important than finishing fourth.

“We needed to rest players. Our squad is short at this time. Today brave guys like Smalling, Jones and Mata – it’s the first time they played football for seven weeks.

“I’m disappointed with the result, not the performance. I liked individual performances and also collective performances. We lost because we didn’t score and we had great chances to score before them. They had luck with that goal.

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“The last trophy I won was three months ago. I didn’t care about that. Thursday is the match of the season. I hope Old Trafford feels the same, because we need Old Trafford.”

Wenger played down the significance of finally overcoming the Mourinho hurdle and was pleased to see his side keep their Champions League hopes alive.

Wenger added: “We [Mourinho and I] have had many draws as well and there were some fantastic teams that we played against. It is not manager against manager.

“It was a patiently built win where in the first half you could see we were a bit nervous, in the second half we took the edge off and scored the goals. It was a good win.

“We still have a mathematical chance but we need some help. But the best help we can get is by winning our own games.

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