Arsene Wenger's ongoing dispute with Jose Mourinho rumbles on as Arsenal manager refuses to bite after Portuguese's latest jibe

• e-mail

Arsene Wenger has laughed off Jose Mourinho’s jibes about being the only Premier League manager free from threat of the sack by insisting his most important challenge is fielding a team that plays attractive football and improves each week.

Mourinho launched an astonishing attack on the Arsenal boss on Friday, claiming: 'He can not achieve; keep his job, still be the king. In this country, only one manager is not under pressure.'

Wenger cracked a smile when the issue was raised following Arsenal’s 5-2 victory at Leicester, saying: ‘I didn’t realise that, I must say.’

Arsene Wenger has laughed off Jose Mourinho’s jibes regarding his job security at Arsenal this season

Mourinho launched an astonishing attack on the Arsenal boss on Friday aimed at riling the Frenchman

Asked if he felt like a king he replied: ‘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.

‘What we want is to manage a team who enjoys playing together and gets better every week.’

Wenger gave the impression he has more to say on the matter, but was content to avoid a direct riposte to Mourinho for now.

His team turned in their best performance of the season so far in defeating the Premier League’s last remaining unbeaten side. Alexis Sanchez’s return to form with a hat-trick provided particular reason for cheer.

Theo Walcott equalised for Arsenal against Leicester with a well-taken goal at the King Power Stadium

Alexis Sanchez (left) celebrates after scoring his first Premier League goal of the season against Leicester

Following successive defeats for Manchester City, who lost 4-1 to Tottenham, Arsenal are now just three points off top spot and welcome leaders Manchester United to the Emirates on Sunday.

‘Two weeks ago, you could say one team were going to run away with it and now it’s tight again,’ said Wenger. ‘Of course the City result was a boost, you want the distance to the leaders to be as minimal as possible. It's very tight and you're in danger everywhere in this Premier League.

‘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.’