Jose Mourinho has struck back at Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for comments regarding the recent transfer of Juan Mata from Chelsea to Manchester United.

Wenger complained that Chelsea's move was unfair and should not have been sanctioned since Manchester United and Chelsea are not likely to meet again for the remainder of the 2013-14 season.

"I am surprised," said Wenger about the deal, according to ESPN. "Juan Mata is a great player and they sell a great player to a direct opponent. It opens again a little bit the opportunity of this transfer market because Chelsea has already played twice against Man United. They don't play against them anymore. They could have sold him last week [before United's 3-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge].

"If you want to respect fairness, that should not happen. You would want that everyone is on the same level. Chelsea do not do the rules. Maybe the rules should be adapted to more fairness."

Mourinho, never one to shy away from a fight, did not ignore Wenger's comments to the media and decided to fire back.

"Wenger complaining is normal because he always does," Mourinho said, according to ESPN. "It's something that we know. When a player plays for a club on Aug. 20 and two weeks later, on Sept. 5, plays against the same club with a different shirt, this is normal. This is the market. We don't do the market, we don't do the rules. We have just to do according to the rules."

Of course, this is a veiled shot at Arsenal's late transfer for Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid. The German was acquired on the final day of the summer transfer window and has since helped Arsenal move to the top of the Premier League standings.

Mourinho did not simply hint at Ozil, but actually mentioned him in tossing venom at Wenger.

"If Wenger sells [Mesut] Ozil to Manchester United in this moment, I will be very happy because he's selling a very important player," said Mourinho. "I'm not concerned with other things. So, normally, he should be very happy that Chelsea sold a player like Juan Mata ... But I think it's also a bit of his nature. We have to accept the way he is."

Mourinho did not leave it at that. Instead, he continued and even complained a bit himself about Arsenal's lucky scheduling in comparison with his own team's fortunes.

"But when he says that this is not fair, I think what is not fair is that his team always has the best days to play. Always. Always," said Mourinho. "In the Capital One Cup, we had to play 24 hours after. They had 72 hours. That's not fair. This week, a week without a midweek game, what everyone wants to do is play before to rest ahead of next week. One plays on Friday, another on Sunday.

"Who plays Friday? [Arsenal]. Who plays Sunday? [Chelsea]. When you go to the fixtures this season, it's never fair because they always get the right to rest and the right time to play. It's fantastic. That's not fair."