Arsene Wenger threatened to take action against Jose Mourinho for calling him "a voyeur" as he branded the Chelsea manager's outspoken comments as "out of order, disconnected with reality and disrespectful."
Mourinho had bristled at Wenger's suggestion last week that Chelsea's self-belief may have taken a knock with their draw at Everton and Carling Cup defeat on penalties to Charlton.
Mourinho intimated that Wenger was obsessed about Chelsea and declared: "There are some guys, who, when they are at home, have this big telescope to see what happens in other families."
Wenger added: "He must be one of them. Being a voyeur is a sickness."
Wenger hit back ahead of Arsenal's Champions League tie against Sparta Prague, believing that Mourinho had overstepped the mark in making such an apparently personal attack.
He declared: "I will see whether I take any action about that. I don't know yet, but I leave that door open."
The Frenchman would not confirm whether he was considering a complaint to the Football Association for bringing the game into disrepute or even legal action for alleged slander.
Asked what action he was considering, Wenger added: "I've said what I had to say about that. I'm not obsessed at all with Chelsea. I'm at a club where I'm very happy. Things have changed over the years in English football."
Wenger has previously seemed to relish his psychological battles with Alex Ferguson, whom he respects despite their repeated verbal clashes over the years.
But when pressed on the issue of Mourinho's weekend criticisms, Wenger's irritation at the Chelsea boss's apparent lack of respect became increasingly evident.
Wenger continued: "When I came to England, I was happy to come and be confronted with the English culture, where the owners of the clubs were English and they opened the door to foreign people.
"Now, in some clubs, it looks like it is becoming different and that's where it's important not to lose your values. It is important that the respect you have always shown stays but the ways are becoming different in English football."
