- Arsene Wenger hits back at Jose Mourinho's 'specialist in failure' comment
- Arsenal boss said jibes were 'embarrassing for Chelsea'
- Frenchman's side beat Liverpool 2-1 to FA Cup sixth round
- Chelsea were dumped out of the competition by Manchester City and failed to register a shot on target
Arsene Wenger claimed Jose Mourinho is an embarrassment to the game after a passionate defence of his record at Arsenal.
The Gunners boss was speaking after seeing his side reach the FA Cup quarter-finals following a 2-1 win over Liverpool, courtesy of goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski.
Wenger - furious with Mourinho’s claims that he is ‘a specialist in failure’ - hit out at the Chelsea manager.
VIDEO: Scroll down to see Wenger's post-match conference
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Retort: Arsene Wenger told BT Sport 1 that Jose Mourinho's 'specialist in failure' comments were 'embarrassing for Chelsea'
WAR OF WORDS - What Jose said
‘Am I afraid of failure? He is a specialist in failure. I’m not. So if one supposes he’s right and I’m afraid of failure, it’s because I don’t fail many times.
'So maybe he’s right. I’m not used to failing. But the reality is he’s a specialist because, eight years without a piece of silverware, that’s failure.
‘If I did that in Chelsea I’d leave and not come back to London. I don’t fear anything in football.’
Wenger said: ‘I am embarrassed for him honestly. I am more disappointed for Chelsea than for me.’
Wenger had claimed on Friday morning that ‘fear of failure’ was the reason Barclays Premier League managers were ruling their teams out of the title race.
That prompted Mourinho’s extraordinary response on Friday and he stirred things up again on Saturday when he claimed Wenger’s comments were unprovoked. ‘I don’t accept that one is always Monsieur Polite and the other one is always the bad guy,’ he said.
The Arsenal manager also confirmed that disciplinary action would be taken against Olivier Giroud after he apologised for taking a female companion back to the team hotel.
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Limp: Chelsea were dumped out of the FA Cup by Manchester City after failing to register a shot on target
Married Giroud had consistently denied taking a girl to the Four Seasons Hotel in Canary Wharf the night before the 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace on February 2.
Wenger added: ‘It is an internal matter but I do not want to comment publicly because I respect his privacy.’
Giroud came on as a second half substitute for Arsenal yesterday and will face Roberto Martinez’s side on the weekend of March 8.
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Denied: Howard Webb failed to give Liverpool a second penalty after Luis Suarez was clearly fouled
Reflecting on Sunday's win over Liverpool, which tees up a home last-eight meeting with Everton, Wenger added: 'I'm very proud of the way we responded to the huge defeat we had last week, and that was the most pleasing thing.
'To win makes you stronger, and that was important today.
'The FA Cup is always interesting, and now we have another big tie here. It will be an interesting game.'
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers felt his side were wrongly denied a certain penalty kick which could well have changed the outcome of the game.
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Definite: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was second to the ball and brought down the Uruguayan striker
The visitors were awarded one penalty when Podolski tripped Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard converted, but it was another incident in the area that became the focus of much of the post-match analysis.
Referee Howard Webb ruled Oxlade-Chamberlain committed no foul when he went in hard on Suarez, although replays suggested otherwise.
Suarez's amateur dramatics did him no favours, but Rodgers nevertheless felt there was only one decision.
'It was a blatant penalty. I don’t know why Howard didn’t give it but maybe it came too close to the first penalty. It should have been an easy decision,' Rodgers said.
'The second one is clear. I'm not sure if it was just after [the first one being awarded], but it was a clear penalty. Luis got a touch on the ball and young Alex has taken him out.
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Bitterly disappointed: Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was angry that the penalty was not awarded
'It was a strange decision. It was a penalty... and it was a clear one.'
Reflecting on the game overall, Rodgers added: 'I thought the best team lost. The very least we deserved was a replay.
'We're disappointed with the goals, apart from that we were a threat, we played with real confidence and belief.'
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