Mourinho had plenty of reasons to complain about New Manchester United's fixture congestion.
Wenger had just as many reasons to believe Arsenal's schedule was even worse.
From the 33rd league round onwards, Arsenal still had to play Everton at home, Chelsea away, Tottenham at home, Liverpool at home, Birmingham away and West Bromwich Albion away.
And that did not include the FA Cup.
During the most demanding stage of the season, Wenger's side would therefore have to face Everton, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool in quick succession.
Even Birmingham could hardly be regarded as an easy fixture.
Arsenal supporters had certainly not forgotten them.
It was Krzynówek's goal for Birmingham on the final day of the previous season that had condemned Arsenal to defeat and allowed New Manchester United to take the Premier League title.
Steve Bruce's side remained one of the most awkward opponents in England.
They were not among the league's strongest teams on paper, but they were organised, physical and extremely difficult to play against.
Whatever the pressure of the league campaign, Wenger was not prepared to surrender the FA Cup.
For the semi-final against New Manchester United, he selected a mixed side containing several regulars and several reserves, while resting key players such as Henry and Vieira.
Mourinho went even further.
His team was built largely around the younger members of the squad.
Ishmael started.
Fàbregas started.
Ribéry started.
Agüero started.
Michael Johnson and Mikel were both involved.
The only established first-team leader in the starting eleven was Terry.
Suspended domestically elsewhere in the schedule, he was available for the cup and captained the side alongside Chiellini in central defence.
The Italian had spent most of the season as the fourth-choice centre-back, but he had already reached double figures for appearances and was looking increasingly assured.
His defensive judgement in particular had improved.
Mourinho gave him one specific assignment.
Robin van Persie.
Chiellini followed the Dutch forward relentlessly and gave him almost nothing.
At the other end, New Manchester United's young attackers took a little longer to settle.
There were early mistakes.
Passes went astray.
Runs were mistimed.
Then the rhythm arrived.
Agüero was outstanding.
The Argentine scored twice, easily his best performance since joining the club.
Even so, the Man of the Match award went elsewhere.
Fàbregas was exceptional.
The young Spaniard continued the excellent form he had shown in the league and produced three assists, repeatedly splitting Arsenal's defence with perfectly weighted passes.
Without Hangeland, Arsenal struggled badly against Ishmael's physicality.
Neither Campbell nor Cygan could control him.
The teenager bullied the centre-backs, held up possession and scored twice.
Reyes responded with a goal and an assist for Arsenal.
It was nowhere near enough.
Arsenal 2-4 New Manchester United.
Mourinho had effectively rotated half his side and still reached the FA Cup final.
Even he had not expected it to be quite so comfortable.
The reaction afterwards centred on New Manchester United's young players.
Ishmael.
Fàbregas.
Agüero.
Michael Johnson.
Mikel.
Ribéry.
Most were still only in their late teens or barely into their twenties, yet they had gone away to Arsenal and won a cup semi-final.
Their potential seemed enormous.
For Wenger, the sight of Fàbregas controlling the match was particularly uncomfortable.
The Spaniard had once been one of Barcelona's most highly regarded academy players, and Wenger himself had admired him before New Manchester United secured his development.
Now Fàbregas was dismantling Arsenal in an opponent's shirt.
Wenger had already begun looking elsewhere for creative reinforcements.
Marseille's Samir Nasri was one target.
Borussia Dortmund's Tomáš Rosický was another.
Both could operate as creative midfielders, and Wenger believed either might eventually succeed Pires.
Neither would be cheap.
Nasri was among the most highly rated young French players of his generation.
Rosický had strengthened his reputation enormously with his performances for the Czech Republic at Euro 2004.
Arsenal, however, were reportedly seeking new outside investment and sponsorship, and Wenger had been told that funds would be available for important additions.
For New Manchester United, reaching the FA Cup final was an unexpected bonus.
Mourinho praised the younger players publicly and promised that their performances would earn them further opportunities.
At Newton Heath, promises like that mattered.
The dressing room culture depended heavily on trust.
Players could argue.
They could criticise each other.
They could joke ruthlessly.
But once people stopped believing one another, the structure began to break.
Mourinho had no intention of making promises he would not keep.
Against Aston Villa in the league, he rotated again.
Chiellini partnered Vidić in central defence.
Fàbregas replaced Beckham.
Ribéry came in for Ronaldo.
Agüero and Ishmael were both given minutes in the second half.
After a badly needed period of rest, New Manchester United looked refreshed.
Ribéry scored.
Kaká scored.
2-0.
Another victory.
Elsewhere, one of the biggest matches of the round produced far greater drama.
Manchester United took an early 2-0 lead against Chelsea through Robinho and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Then Ancelotti's side transformed the match after half-time.
Chelsea scored three times without reply.
Manchester United 2-3 Chelsea.
The comeback kept Chelsea at the top.
Arsenal responded to their FA Cup elimination in brutal fashion.
Everton were unfortunate enough to be next.
Wenger's side destroyed them 7-0.
Van Persie, so ineffective against Chiellini in the cup, scored twice and restored some pride.
By the end of the 33rd round, the title race had become extraordinarily tight.
Chelsea remained first.
Arsenal were still second.
New Manchester United sat third, only one point from the leading pair.
Manchester United's defeat had pushed them further back, while Liverpool's inconsistent season had effectively removed them from the championship conversation.
Three teams were now separated by almost nothing.
And Arsenal still had to visit Chelsea.
That made the 34th round potentially decisive.
Never before had the Premier League entered its final weeks with three genuine title contenders packed so closely together.
Attention across Europe shifted towards England.
Two matches in particular dominated the conversation.
Chelsea against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
And New Manchester United away to Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.
Mourinho's side played first, on April 19.
Chelsea and Arsenal would meet twenty-four hours later.
That suited Mourinho perfectly.
He selected his strongest available side.
Bolton were having an excellent season, but New Manchester United overwhelmed them almost immediately.
The first half was relentless.
Three goals.
Wave after wave of pressure.
Bolton never settled.
New Manchester United added two more after the interval.
Kaká completed a hat-trick.
His third took him to 21 Premier League goals for the season.
Drogba scored once.
Beckham scored once.
Bolton 0-5 New Manchester United.
For at least one night, Mourinho's side had done everything they could.
Now Chelsea and Arsenal had to respond.
Afterwards, Mourinho was in expansive form.
"We intend to win every match we have left."
A reporter asked whether he still believed the league title was realistic.
"Of course."
He smiled.
"Chelsea and Arsenal are under exactly the same pressure we are."
"If they make mistakes, we have to be ready."
Then came the inevitable question about the Champions League.
Mourinho shrugged.
"We want that too."
"The league, the FA Cup, the Champions League."
"If there is a trophy available to us, we want to compete for it."
He spread his hands.
"This club was built to win."
The 5-0 victory had clearly improved his mood, because Mourinho even offered an assessment of his two title rivals.
Chelsea, he believed, had the deeper and more balanced squad.
Arsenal were more vulnerable defensively.
Then someone asked for his preferred result at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho grinned.
"A draw."
The journalists laughed.
"Obviously."
"If they take points from each other, that's good for us."
Nobody needed the arithmetic explained.
For Chelsea and Arsenal, however, there was no room for calculation.
Neither could afford to lose.
Ancelotti knew Arsenal's defence could be unstable and planned to exploit that weakness aggressively at home.
Wenger, meanwhile, had spent the week analysing Chelsea's midfield and looking for ways to escape their pressure.
The tactical battle would have been interesting enough on its own.
Then the transfer market exploded into the story.
Arsenal allowed reports to circulate that Wenger was interested in Chelsea defender William Gallas.
The Frenchman had been linked with Arsenal before.
Wenger admired his versatility and had long considered him a potential addition.
Chelsea responded with something far more provocative.
On the night Arsenal demolished Everton, reports emerged that Ancelotti and Peter Kenyon had met Ashley Cole at a London hotel.
Not only that.
Some newspapers claimed Cole had already discussed the terms of a future move to Chelsea.
Arsenal were furious.
The story appeared in the morning.
By the afternoon, the club had released a statement promising to pursue disciplinary and legal action against both Chelsea and Cole if the reports proved accurate.
Chelsea appeared remarkably unconcerned.
In fact, the meeting had hardly been conducted in secrecy.
Ancelotti and Kenyon had been seen openly.
Several supporters near the hotel had even approached them for autographs and photographs.
That only made Arsenal angrier.
But beneath the immediate dispute was a much larger issue.
European football's transfer regulations had already been transformed once by the Bosman ruling.
The relationship between sporting regulations, freedom of employment and European labour law remained contentious.
Cole's camp began arguing that a footballer should have the same basic freedom as any other employee to discuss future employment, and that restrictions preventing players under contract from speaking to another club without permission could eventually face a serious legal challenge.
The Premier League saw things very differently.
Its rules prohibited clubs from approaching contracted players without the permission of their employers.
Those rules were designed to protect contracts and prevent richer clubs from simply destabilising players whenever they wished.
If that framework were successfully challenged under European law, the consequences could be enormous.
Some immediately began calling the Ashley Cole affair a possible precursor to a second Bosman case.
The original Bosman ruling had reshaped the entire transfer market a decade earlier.
Another legal intervention could do the same.
For the moment, though, the argument was more personal than philosophical.
Cole's relationship with Arsenal had deteriorated rapidly.
He publicly expressed his frustration.
Wenger responded by dropping him.
Gaël Clichy was prepared to start instead.
The message was unmistakable.
If Cole wanted out, Wenger was not going to build around him.
Ancelotti, by contrast, remained outwardly calm.
"Ashley Cole is an excellent player," he said at his pre-match press conference.
"In my opinion, he is the best English left-back."
That alone was enough to produce another wave of headlines.
"Of course I would like excellent players in my squad."
He smiled.
"But transfer matters belong to the summer."
"As for any legal or disciplinary issue, that is for the club to deal with."
Then his expression became more serious.
"My concern is Arsenal."
"And tomorrow's match."
Wenger was far less restrained.
Encouraged by repeated questions from the press, he attacked Chelsea publicly and accused them of deliberately unsettling one of his players.
He called the alleged approach a serious breach of Premier League rules and demanded that Chelsea face the strongest possible punishment if found guilty.
By then, the title showdown barely needed any additional tension.
It had plenty.
First against second.
One point separating three clubs.
A championship potentially hanging on one result.
A transfer dispute involving one of Arsenal's most important players.
Two managers under enormous pressure.
By kick-off, Stamford Bridge felt combustible.
Chelsea needed victory.
Arsenal needed victory.
And neither side had any intention of giving an inch.
From the first whistle, it was obvious that this would not be a quiet evening.
(To be continued.)
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◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)