A DAY AFTER Jose Mourinho said he wanted to return to football and "kill" his former club Chelsea, his one-time adversary Arsene Wenger described anyone having such a need as suffering from a lack of self-worth and with a twisted view of sport

The Arsenal manager did not refer to Mourinho directly when making his claim but was responding to comments made by the Portuguese in Valencia on Thursday.

The chagrin in his tone spoke of the many disputes the pair engaged in during Mourinho's more than three years in charge at Stamford Bridge.

"Why should you always have to kill other people to exist yourself? If you do that, then somewhere, you feel you are not good enough," Wenger said.

"If you have to come out all the time to destroy people, what is life about? Winning and destroying people can never be everything."

The Frenchman's ire was initially raised by Mourinho's suggestion that Arsenal are a "unique team" because their manager has not won a trophy for almost three years but remains an idol at the club.

"Somebody can say that if you don't win trophies, then you're no one. For me sport is more than just winning," Wenger said.

"A trophy is what you can show, but what remains is the way you play and the way you behave, that is also important."