Old foes Mourinho and Wenger giving peace a chance in Amsterdam

The managers feuded bitterly through Mourinho's three years at but as and Inter Milan arrived in the Dutch capital to take part in a pre-season tournament it was all smiles and winks and jokes.

Back in focus: Jose Mourinho has moved on from being the Special One since leaving Chelsea, as his colourful tan illustrated in Amsterdam. But does he still have the golden touch?

Wenger's goodwill even extended to solidarity with another arch enemy, Sir Alex Ferguson, whom he applauded for winning his battle with Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo.

The only hint of animosity came from a cryptic Mourinho comment about his successors at Stamford Bridge, Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Asked whether Scolari was under pressure to emulate his own achievements at Chelsea, Mourinho said: 'I don't feel pressure to succeed Roberto Mancini. He's a big coach who did a very good job at Inter Milan but I don't feel pressure to be here and to do my job. You'll have to ask Scolari how it feels to succeed Avram Grant.' 

Did this mean Scolari's life was easier because Grant was unable to win anything? Mourinho chose not to elaborate. 

Arsenal and Inter Milan do not meet in the Amsterdam Tournament but the managers, who clashed after Mourinho branded Wenger a 'voyeur' in 2005, sat at the same table at yesterday's press conference in the Hilton Hotel.

'We had some battles and unfortunately Jose won many times,' said Wenger. 'But we are not playing Inter. We would have loved to because they are a great side and it's always interesting to measure yourself against the top teams from other countries because it gives you a view of how we will do in Europe if we can qualify.'

'I totally share this view,' said smiling Mourinho. 'Now we are in different countries, we agree more often.' More laughter.

Having faced his own problems losing Alexander Hleb to Barcelona and Mathieu Flamini to AC Milan, Wenger had sympathy for Ferguson at Manchester United and was happy to see Ronaldo commit his future to Old Trafford after a summer of uncertainty.

'I'm pleased because he brings something to the Premier League,' said the Arsenal boss.

'We want it to be the best league in the world, therefore the best players in the world have to play there. Common sense and contracts have prevailed. You wouldn't want to think one of the best players in the world just walks out and does not respect his contract.'

The Gunners, who play Ajax today (Friday) and Sevilla on Saturday, arrived without injured midfielders Abou Diaby and Samir Nasri, but Cesc Fabregas is expected to make his first pre-season appearance, as is Kolo Toure after recovering from a mild bout of malaria.

The absence of Diaby and Nasri emphasises Wenger's sparsity of cover in midfield and the lack of experience in his squad. William Gallas is the only outfield player over 30, part of the reason why Wenger has kept faith in him as captain despite criticism of the way he handled the job last season, particularly his tearful protest at Birmingham when a late penalty denied the Gunners victory.

'He acknowledged he made some mistakes and he has learned from that,' said Wenger. 'He's an important player and he plays in a position where it is easy to be the captain. Some of the others who could be captain are a bit young. In our team, when you're 21 you look old!

'He got a lot of criticism after what happened at Birmingham but until then everyone said he was a fantastic captain, so I think he deserves another go, to show his commitment, then we will see where we stand at the end of the season.

'He has a good evaluation of his own performances. That's what makes the big players, I believe. If you speak to a big player after a game, he can always assess what he has done right and wrong.'