Jose Mourinho: I do not have a problem with John Terry

Terry was substituted at half-time in the 3-0 loss at Manchester City, was sent off in the win at West Brom and was an unused substitute in the midweek Champions League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Steven Gerrard, Terry's successor as England captain, suggested relations were strained between the Chelsea manager and his captain, something Mourinho has denied.

But the Portuguese insists he will do what is best for the team and Terry understands that as much as anyone else.

"Last season he played every minute but two seasons ago he didn't and three seasons ago even less. So what's the problem?" Mourinho said.

"He's a player of my total confidence. I trust him as always and he's one of my men. Because he's on the bench one game or because I take him off at half-time, nothing changes.

"For John the situation with me hasn't changed since 2004 [when Mourinho first became Chelsea manager]. It is exactly the same.

"I play the player I think is the best for that game, for that moment and John has known that since 2004. I don't care what you say, media, pundits. I don't think about the consequences."

Mourinho says it is disrespectful to Terry to suggest a rift with his manager.

"I don't think John deserves somebody to say he has a problem with me," Mourinho added.

"I'm not even speaking about myself, I don't care about myself. But I think a top professional like he is and the way he always behaves in this club with me, I don't think he deserves any kind of doubt about what he is as a professional and as a captain in this club."

Mourinho's struggles have directed the spotlight away from Arsene Wenger to some extent. Not much, though. The Frenchman has been the target of criticism from Arsenal supporters ever since the closure of the transfer window following the club's failure to add a striker, a decision which lay largely at the door of Wenger, who has a significant degree of control of the signing budget. Those grievances have intensified in light of the surprise 2-1 defeat at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb in midweek Champions League action.

Wenger, though, has not used Mourinho's woes to rub salt in wounds or ameliorate pressure on himself.

"I don't want to talk about that, it is not my problem," said Wenger when pressed on the issues now facing Mourinho. "You have to find the right players and the right balance. It is the same for everybody."

The rival coaches squared up in the dugout last season during the Blues' 2-0 win and then following Arsenal's victory in the 2015 FA Community Shield at Wembley there was no handshake between the pair.

However, despite the intense media focus on their simmering rivalry - during which Mourinho once branded the Arsenal manager a "specialist in failure" - Wenger would rather his side's performance on the pitch make the headlines and refused to be drawn on the dynamics during his pre-match press conference.

While Chelsea enjoyed a 4-0 Champions League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, Arsenal opened their European campaign with disappointing 2-1 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb, where striker Olivier Giroud was sent off.

Wenger defended his decision to rotate the squad, with goalkeeper Petr Cech on the bench and Aaron Ramsey and Hector Bellerin not travelling to Croatia.

Wenger also insists the extended journey time back to London through the small hours of Thursday morning, which included a two-hour drive across the border to Ljubljana airport in Slovenia, cannot be used as a get-out for any shortcomings on Saturday.

"We have to deal with that and we have to forget about that and just focus on the game," he said.

"No [it does not give them an excuse], they prepare well enough.

"You never know what kind of consequences that is but I think we are prepared to deal with it."