LONDON -- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger sidestepped questions about his frosty relationship with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho ahead of the clash at the Emirates on Sunday.
Wenger has failed to record a victory in his 12 previous meetings with Mourinho's teams and the duo have endured a fractious relationship -- which involved in a scuffle on the touchline when Arsenal lost 2-0 at Stamford Bridge earlier this season -- during the Portuguese manager's two spells in charge of Chelsea.
Mourinho's suggestion in February 2014 that Wenger was "a specialist in failure" due to his lack of trophy success over the last decade was a key indicator of the bitterness that evidently exists between the duo, but the Arsenal boss was keen to turn attention away from their personal battle as his side try to trim Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premier League standings to seven points.
"I do not want to talk about that," Wenger told a news conference. "What is of interest for people when the game starts at 4 p.m. is to have a great game. That is what English football needs. Arsenal vs. Chelsea is a big football game. It's not a confrontation [between the two managers], it a confrontation between two teams."
When asked whether Mourinho had changed his persona since his first spell as Chelsea manager, Wenger was again unwilling to enter into a discussion, saying: "I don't know, honestly I don't know."
Mourinho was showered with praise for his tactical nous in the recent 1-0 win over Man Utd, but Wenger would not be drawn on suggestions that his great rival is a "genius."
"Look, you are the judge, you watch the games, it's not for me to assess," he said. "My job is to focus my team on the game and to prepare my team. Your job is to assess all the geniuses you can meet. I leave you that job."
Wenger also suggested his failure to beat Mourinho's teams in 12 attempts will not be a factor in Sunday's top of the table clash.
"The result on Sunday will be down to the performance on the day," he added. "We are on a good run and we have an opportunity at home to beat them and we want to take it."