Manchester United left back Patrice Evra lit a fuse ahead of his team's top-of-the-table match against English Premier League leader Arsenal by branding the London club merely ''a training center.''
Arsenal is a point clear of second-place United, which has a game in hand, heading into Monday's match at Old Trafford but Evra has cast doubt on the Gunners' title chances.
''For me, it (Arsenal) is a training center,'' said Evra, speaking on Canal+ Sport show Les Specialistes on Thursday. ''I hear them being compared to Barcelona but people in 20 years' time aren't going to remember Arsenal's football.''
The France left back said defending English champion Chelsea, which is a point further back in third, is United's main threat in this campaign.
''Arsenal is a great club which hasn't won anything in five years - that's a crisis,'' Evra added. ''Our real rival is Chelsea.
''We can lose against them (Arsenal) but then what is there? There is nothing. There's no trophies, nothing.''
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger shrugged off Evra's comments.
''We do not want to go into any unneeded talking before a game like that,'' he said. ''We want to focus on the way we want to play and ignore any provocation before a game.
''We are motivated by the desire to win the game and by the quality of the football we want to play. Personally, I believe if you are a big player you always respect your opponent and that is what we try to do.''
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