Chelsea snatched two late goals on Tuesday to win at Portsmouth and go eight points clear at the top while Arsenal had to wait until tonight for their trip to Newcastle.

And Mourinho, who had complained bitterly after his team narrowly beat Aston Villa on Sunday that two games in three days are bad for the health, said: “They (Arsenal) always seem to have two days or three days in which to recover from matches.

“Perhaps it is something to do with the TV schedules. They had the same on Boxing Day.”

Arsenal, in fact, had one day less to prepare for their Christmas holiday fixtures, having met Portsmouth at Fratton Park the previous Sunday after Chelsea had moved eight points ahead 24 hours earlier with a 4-0 trouncing of Norwich.

And before Arsenal and Chelsea clashed in a 2-2 Highbury draw on December 12, a Sunday match also dictated by Sky TV, they had both played their final preliminary group Champions League matches on the same Tuesday night.

After also aiming verbal jibes at his Manchester United counterpart, Alex Ferguson, this season, it is becoming evident that Mourinho clearly revels in the vitriol at the top.

But he is deadly serious when he supports calls for a midwinter break in English football. He said: “You can play two games in three days, but it is not correct. It is not good for the health just like smoking one cigar after another is not good for the health.

“My players are tired. All of them, especially John Terry. At least he has a few days now to be ready for the next game at Liverpool. Who knows what our lead will be after that? Arsenal play at Charlton. I just don’t know.

“But I know this has been one of my greatest years, probably the best. I won the Portuguese League and the European Cup with Porto, came to Chelsea, qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League and finished 2004 on top of the Premiership.

“There are still some hard tests ahead but my players have shown they have the desire to win the title and they know they have the ability.”

Arjen Robben’s 80th-minute strike produced a hard-earned Chelsea breakthrough at Pompey but the Dutchman has admitted he was “stupid” to pick up a yellow card for his extravagant celebration.

He stripped off his shirt, waved it above his head and finally threw it away as he ran back up the touchline.

The £12m (€16.9m) winger said: “I was so happy to score such an important goal for Chelsea right at the end, but I shouldn’t have done it.

“You don’t get many goals that mean as much as that one, though, and I will have to accept the booking although no harm was meant at all.”

Mourinho has already forgiven the former PSV Eindhoven star who is back in goalscoring form again after an explosive start to his Premiership career – four foals in four starts – faded slightly.

But the yellow card was Robben’s fourth of the campaign and one more will mean an automatic one-match suspension.

Mourinho, meanwhile, may now decide to take it more slowly with returning striker Didier Drogba.

The £24m (€33.8m) Ivory Coast ace looked out of sorts at Pompey and was eventually replaced in the second half of his first Premiership start since a groin operation two months ago.

Mourinho said: “We have good experience of this inside the club because Steve Clarke (assistant manager) had exactly the same operation when he was a player that Didier had.

“He told us the feelings are very bad. You know you are okay, you know you are recovered but the feelings in the groin and abdominal area are really bad.

“To be able to sprint and jump again with maximum power takes time but that is no problem. Didier will get that time.”

But after repeatedly having said he would not need to spend heavily again in the January transfer window, he now appears to be reconsidering.

“I am down to my last 16 outfield players. That is not very many.

“We had 20 but Scott Parker (broken foot) and Celestine Babayaro (hamstring) have injuries and Ricardo Carvalho (broken foot) is still recovering.”