Jose Mourinho has retaliated after Arsene Wenger questioned Chelsea’s defensive tactics.

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Mourinho’s side lead Arsenal by 10 points and could take a significant step to winning the Premier League with victory at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow. 

The Blues boss has deployed a “more strategic, less artistic” approach in recent weeks, including in the 1-0 win at QPR when Cesc Fabregas scored with their only shot on target and last weekend’s defeat of Manchester United, who dominated possession at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers said defensive coaching was not difficult after Chelsea’s snatch-and-grab win at Anfield last season and Wenger, who has yet to beat one of Mourinho’s teams in 12 attempts, repeated the barb ahead of this week’s contest.

The Arsenal boss said: “It is easy to defend.”

Mourinho said: “It’s not easy. If it was easy, you wouldn’t lose 3-1 at home to Monaco. If he defends well he draws 0-0 against Monaco and wins in Monte Carlo. It’s not easy to prepare a team to defend.”

Mourinho refused to budge from his view that Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City are in contention for the title until mathematically ruled out.

“I don’t care about other things,” Mourinho added.

“We are the best team since day one and we want to be the best team until the last day. But, mathematically, they can still be champions.”

Mourinho cares little how Chelsea are judged if, or more likely when, they become champions.

“It matters what I feel, not what people feel, think or say,” he said.

The change of the free-flowing attacking philosophy which had many observers purring earlier in the season was prompted by injuries and suspensions to key personnel, including Diego Costa, Fabregas and Nemanja Matic.

“We lost progressively the balance of our team,” Mourinho added.

“When you lose crucial pieces, the team loses certain qualities. It was just a consequence of things.”

Mourinho insists his longer-term plan is to return to the more appealing way.

“I hope to start next season the same way we started this season,” he said. “But when you are in the sea and have no boat, you need something to survive. A raft.

“In football, team spirit and team ethics and strategy is this.”