Arsene Wenger refuses to take Jose Mourinho bait - ' I know what is important,' says Arsenal manager

The Gunners beat Leicester 5-2 at the weekend

Arsene Wenger (GETTY IMAGES)

Arsene Wenger refused to ignite his war of words with Jose Mourinho and insisted he will focus on Arsenal's title challenge.

The Gunners boss would not rise to Mourinho's latest jibe after seeing his side's 5-2 win at Leicester.

Alexis Sanchez's hat-trick at the King Power Stadium left the Gunners just three points behind new Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester United.

Mourinho had aimed fired at Wenger before the weekend, despite refusing to mention him by name, by suggesting he was an exception to pressure managers are under.

The Chelsea chief was also angry at the Football Association's decision to retrospectively ban Diego Costa for three matches following last weekend's 2-0 win over Arsenal, while Gabriel's red card during the incident was rescinded.

Gabriel was subsequently banned for their Leicester win for his reaction to the original dismissal.

But Wenger refused to bite and insisted he did not feel like a "king" as Mourinho had called him.

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

And when asked if he believed he got away with everything, in reference to another Mourinho comment, Wenger replied: "No, I didn't realise that, I must say."

Arsenal host United on Sunday with Wenger admitting the title race is wide open after Manchester City's defeat at Tottenham and he believes his side will only improve.

He said: "Two weeks ago, you could say one team were going to run away with it and now it's tight again. You have to be consistent. That's what we focus on. I feel that the quality of our game is getting better, week by week, and overall we are finding the level that we had shown at the end of last season.

"We came to Leicester, who had not lost a game this season, and the fact that we could win in a convincing way is of course good for our confidence as well."

Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud also scored for the Gunners while Jamie Vardy's double was not enough to maintain Leicester's unbeaten record.

"At this moment he (Vardy) is in great condition," said boss Claudio Ranieri. "He has very good experience from last season. He came from non-league, it's not easy. The national team then called him and it's another good reaction for the confidence. Now I give him all the confidence, I love the striker because he works hard and has a lot of chances to score a goal.

"He charges all of his team-mates because when you see your striker go to press everybody feels good. It wasn't enough to stop them because the Arsenal players are outstanding when they take the ball."