The war of words between Mourinho and Arsène took a new turn yesterday after Arsène spoke out again yesterday to explain how he felt that the little spat was a bit embarrassing to both he and Mourinho—but mostly to Mourinho:

I do not want to go into those silly, disrespectful remarks. I never spoke about him in my press conference, and I will not start now. The only thing I know is it is more embarrassing for Chelsea than for me. I am embarrassed for him. Honestly. I am more disappointed for Chelsea than for me. I am not interested in the subject at all. If you are interested, and you have nothing better to do in your life, you are free to do it. I love football. What is interesting for me is what happens on the pitch.

Now, whether Arsène actually spoke about Mourinho or only alluded to him is beside the point.

The whole affair reminds me of the back-and-forth reminds of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, in which Pee-Wee, the dapper but nerdy kid with a shiny red-and-white bike, faces Frances Buxton, an oily, wealthy, smarmy rival who can buy anything he wants, especially Pee-wee’s bike. In one face-off, the exchange goes like this: