Arsene Wenger hits back at Jose Mourinho

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has refuted suggestions made by Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho that he is given special treatment by the Football Association.

The Frenchman lobbied for Diego Costa's three-match ban after the Blues striker was retrospectively punished for a physical spat with Laurent Koscielny in the Gunners' 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge last Saturday.

Gabriel, who was sent off for kicking out at Costa, later had his red card rescinded, with Mourinho sarcastically referring to Wenger as "the king" last week, hinting that he is above the law when it comes to the FA.

"No, I feel I have just done my job with the team and for our fans. That's what you want. Honestly I'm not too much concerned about the other results," he is quoted as saying by Sky Sports News.

"Thirty years in football now, and I know that what is important is to play football well."

Wenger's men sit fourth in the Premier League table, five points clear of champions Chelsea in 15th.

Jose Mourinho: 'I wanted to substitute six Chelsea players against Newcastle'

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that he wanted to haul off six of his players in the first half of his side's Premier League match against Newcastle United on Saturday.

The English champions went a goal down in the first 45 minutes, and conceded another after the half-time break before Ramires and Willian struck to give the Blues a 2-2 draw at St James' Park.

After the match, Mourinho was critical of his players' first-half performance and admitted that he would have taken off the majority of his team if he could have.

"I did not know which decisions to make," the Daily Star quotes Mourinho as saying. "There were six players I could have taken off. I wanted to make six substitutions. That is how bad we were."

Branislav Ivanovic, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard have faced criticism for not being up to par in the early stages of the season.

Arsenal humble Leicester at home

Alexis Sanchez scored a hat-trick as Arsenal smashed Leicester City 5-2 at the KingPower Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Alexis Sanchez scored a hat-trick as Arsenal smashed Leicester City 5-2 at the KingPower Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

• Leicester Arsenal
• Vardy opens the scoring
• Walcott levels matters
• Sanchez grabs hat-trick
• Vardy and Giroud score late one

Match summary

High-flying Leicester took the lead 13 minutes into the contest through a great strike from Jamie Vardy but were unable to consolidate their advantage as Theo Walcott equalised for the Gunners with an equally adept finish five minutes later.

Sanchez would put the visitors in the lead before half-time as he pounced on the loose ball and then put Arsenal out of sight with two expertly taken goals in the second-half.

Vardy got his second of the game with time winding down to add some respectability to the scoreline but his goal was canceled moments later when Olivier Giroud came on to add a fifth.

Full Report

The games started at break-neck speed as both sides created a number of chances early on and Arsenal should have taken the lead when Sanchez played Walcott in on goal, but the England international pushed his measured effort just over the bar.

The Foxes then repelled another good attack from the visitors as the Gunners probed for an opening in their typical fashion, eventually making some space through Cazorla, the Spaniard firing goalward only to see his effort cleared of the line by Danny Drinkwater with Caspar Schmeichel beaten.

Moments later and it was Leicester's turn to go forward, the hosts putting some passes together on the edge of the box allowing, Jamie Vardy to squirm his effort through traffic against the post as Petr Cech looked on helplessly.

Vardy would eventually break the deadlock on 13 minutes, however, as he capped off a blistering counter attack, expertly controlling Drinkwater's ball over his top and firing an brilliant curled effort past Cech.

Their lead would only last five minutes as Vardy pushed his header onto the bar and the Gunners launched an equally devastating counter, Walcott easing past a labouring Robert Huth and finishing of the post to level matters.

Wenger's men seemed to grow in confidence as the half wore on and would take the lead before half-time through Alexis Sanchez, the Chilean making no mistake with the loose ball after some good work by Bellerin down the right for his first goal of the season.

After the break and Arsenal created a number of chances early on through Walcott and Sanchez but neither forward was able to add to the Gunners lead following some resolute defending from the hosts.

They eventually added a third through Sanchez, though, as the Chilean played a great one two with Mesut Ozil and rose highest to head home past Schmeichel into the top right corner.

Sanchez grabbed his hat-trick with a great strike later in the half as he eased past two Leicester defenders and fired an unstoppable drive into the bottom corner.

Leicester pulled one back through another great curled effort from Vardy but the damage was already done and substitute Giroud came on late on to complete the rout, the Frenchman beating Schmeichel at the near post.

Rooney: Martial is the next big thing

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has expressed confidence that 19-year-old striker Anthony Martial will continue creating "magic moments".

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has expressed confidence that 19-year-old striker Anthony Martial will continue creating "magic moments".

Martial, who joined United from Monaco for £36 million at the beginning of the month, has scored four goals in all competitions this season, including three goals in his first two Premier League appearances.

The Frenchman was unable to keep his Premier League scoring streak going during the Red Devils' 3-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday, but he did register an assist when he set up Rooney for the second goal of the match.

"He's been incredible," Rooney told MUTV of Martial. "He's a 19-year-old lad who doesn't speak English and has moved over from France with a young family, so we have to understand that."

Rooney has been thoroughly impressed by Martial and he believes that the Frenchman will be a valuable asset this season and in the years to come.

"He'll be a big player for us throughout the season and in the future, but we need to let him enjoy his football, and I'm sure he'll bring magic moments for us," Rooney said. 

While Martial has made a fast start to his Premier League career, United manager Louis van Gaal has cautioned that he still faces the biggest challenge of all - adapting to life in England.

The teenager is currently living in a hotel with his wife Samantha and daughter Toto, and Van Gaal believes that the switch to a more permanent living arrangement will be testing.

"He's still living in a hotel. It's the first phase of his adaptation," explained Van Gaal.

"He is coming in to do his training sessions, eat with the players and prepare for matches so it's more or less the same rhythm he had when he was at Monaco - except for living in the hotel.

"That's also a protected area. The big step will come when he settles with his wife in a new house and a new environment.

"We will wait and see how he settles into a house or an apartment when his wife might be alone with their kid and then he comes back and has to do shopping or something.

"He has to cope with that pressure and from what I have seen until now he can do it."

However, like Rooney, Van Gaal has only good things to say of Martial.

"He (Martial) was one of the main reasons why we won the match today," the Dutchman said after the win over the Black Cats. "He is not only a goalscorer, but he is also an attacking point and he can prepare goals.

"I am very happy with him."