Arsene Wenger has confirmed he will shake hands with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and moved to deflect attention away from the dugout ahead of Saturday's meeting between the pair's sides.
The Arsenal boss has never beaten Mourinho in a Premier League fixture.
Of 11 previous meetings between the two in the top flight, the United boss has won five while six have ended with the spoils shared.
The Frenchman's only success came in the 2015 Community Shield at Wembley when Wenger avoided the chance to shake hands with the then Chelsea boss after collecting his winners' medal.
And the pair will this weekend renew their rivalry for the first time since Mourinho took charge at Manchester United in the summer.
"Of course, I respect the ritual that is so important in the Premier League," Wenger said in his pre-match press conference when asked if he would shake hands with the United manager ahead of kick-off.
"I won against every manager in the world during my 20 years here. I do not make these games a competition between two managers, it's between two clubs.
"It’s not the controversy that makes the audience, it’s the quality of the game.
“It is a top level game and will be watched all over the world.”
Mourinho famously branded his opposite number a specialist in failure during his second stint as Chelsea boss and the pair clashed on the touchline at Stamford Bridge as their bitter relationship reached boiling point in 2014.
“I don’t think I have to describe our relationship,” Wenger added.
“He fights for his team, I fight for mine.”
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