Wenger is blamed for seasonal ill will

SOCCER / English FA Premiership: Jose Mourinho declined to shake Arsene Wenger's hand after Chelsea's 2-0 defeat of Arsenal on Sunday because he felt affronted by the FA Cup holders' manager.

Mourinho had circulated a signed corporate Christmas card to all the Premiership managers but had written a personal message in Wenger's. In that he is said by Chelsea sources to have apologised over the pair's dispute this season, insisting he had never intended their spat to become personal.

However, one of the Arsenal backroom staff is said to have approached a Chelsea counterpart before the game to ask about the authenticity of the message, a question which dismayed Mourinho.

When Wenger walked past Mourinho without a word in front of the dugouts, the Portuguese felt it was he who had suffered a snub, prompting his post-match rebuff. Wenger is unlikely to face disciplinary action for his remark that Sunday's officials were on "the Chelsea team", but the Football Association has written to him asking for an explanation of his comment.

Arsenal play at Doncaster tomorrow in the English League Cup but Thierry Henry's focus is more on the Premiership game at Charlton on St Stephen's Day. "It's vital now, more than ever, to get the three points," he said. "Look at where Liverpool were and where they are now. Things can happen for you if you go on a run."

Arjen Robben believes Chelsea's win at Arsenal has dealt a blow to the hopes of their closest rivals. "I think (Manchester) United and Liverpool were really hoping that we were going to lose," he said. "We didn't so, mentally, it's not that nice for them."

Meanwhile, in an interview with Fifa's official 2006 World Cup countdown magazine, Fifa president Sepp Blatter has launched an attack on Chelsea as he called for limits on foreign stars.

Blatter said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system.

"If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."

Rafael Benitez, meanwhile, intends to use the January transfer window to strengthen his Liverpool side and will have £10 million to spend as he looks for those elusive pieces he believes will complete his jigsaw. Though Chelsea appear to have disappeared over the horizon at the top of the Premiership, Benitez is keen to keep up the chase and at least secure a Champions League place for next season.

"We want to be busy next month and, always, signings are important. But now we are in a good position it will be even more so," Benitez said. "It won't just be about the money, either. I always say it's like having a table with three legs and you need to get one more which will fit properly. You want a certain size, the right size, but people may be saying: 'Have this one, it's cheaper and it's better at this or that.' But what use is that if it doesn't fit? You have to make sure you get the right one. It is the same in football - if you want to build a team, you have got to bring players who fit in.

"But I knew Pepe (Reina) who is very positive, and Momo (Sissoko) who is a good worker. Bolo (Zenden) had the experience of playing here already and was a good option for us, and (Peter) Crouch is English and we'd been talking about him for months before the end of last season. In this case we have done it with four players, but we want more."

Benitez added: "It is always difficult to sign players in January because the best are playing in good teams already, which makes it harder mid-season, but then after the World Cup prices go up if they have had a good tournament."

Benitez has already been told that one of his targets, the Benfica winger Simao Sabrosa, will cost £12.2 million, more than his entire budget.

West Ham have signed Israel striker Yaniv Katan (24) from Maccabi Haifa on a three-and-a-half-year contract, subjecting to him passing a medical and obtaining a work permit.

Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn is staying at Bayern Munich until 2008, club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said yesterday. "The contract for a further two years has been agreed," Rummenigge said.