Jose Mourinho has been speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Community Shield final with Arsenal at Wembley on Sunday, and the Portuguese boss was, as always, full of intrigue.
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Mourinho, 52, issued an injury update on Chelsea’s Diego Costa and Gary Cahill, as both suffered injuries in their penalty shootout win against Barcelona in Maryland on Tuesday.
According to Jose, both players will be fit to face Arsenal on Sunday with Cahill recovering from a suspected broken nose and Costa shaking off more hamstring issues.
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Speaking to the media from their Cobham training ground on Friday, Mourinho revealed that he has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the showpiece event on Sunday between the reigning Premier League and FA Cup champions, and he was pleased with how their preseason tour of the U.S. panned out.
Costa’s hamstring complaint was the bigger concern out of the two, as the Spanish international missed vast swathes of Chelsea’s title-winning campaign last season with persistent hamstring issues which date back to early 2014. With Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy around, the Blues could easily negotiate a lively test against Arsenal this Sunday without Costa, as the first piece of domestic silverware of the 2015-16 season is on the line.
As for Arsenal, Mourinho was highly complimentary of them after previously questioning their lack of trophies, compared to the money they have spent in the transfer market. He admitted that Arsenal could win the PL title this season as he brushed off questions about Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger never beating him in 13 previous encounters in the dugout.
“I always think they are. They have very good squads,” Mourinho said. “In this second period in England, immediately when I arrived two years ago I looked at them as a very good squad with very good players. I think it’s more of the same. They’re a top squad... I just want my club to get the best possible result. It doesn’t matter about Arsenal, it doesn’t matter about the manager. I’ve never made a special thing about wins over Arsenal. I don’t explode with happiness when I beat them, and I won’t make drama when lose.”