Ferguson has unsettled his rivals in the past, with Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan launching into a finger-pointing tirade after the Scot made remarks about his team in the 1995-96 title race, with some observers suggesting the Magpies lost the championship the moment Keegan lost his temper. Wenger, however, does not believe that was the case.

“There was a famous story with Keegan and Ferguson, where in the end they said that moment where Keegan lost his nerves, that lost the championship - but I am not convinced,” he said.

“I think it was more their defensive frailty which cost them the title that year, not the manager losing his calm.

“However, it will certainly have an impact on (Benitez and Ferguson’s) relationship, but not on Ferguson.”

During his pre-match press conference yesterday, Benitez said: “We had a meeting in Manchester with managers and the Football Association about the ’Respect’ campaign.

“And I was very clear, forget the campaign because Mr Ferguson was killing the referees, killing Mr (Martin) Atkinson, killing Mr (Keith) Hackett.

“All managers need to know is that only Mr Ferguson can talk about the fixtures, can talk about referees and nothing happens.

“We need to know that I am talking about facts, not my impression. There are things that everyone can see every single week.”