Mauricio Pochettino has responded to claims from Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s father.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has told Football.London that he has a good relationship with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry amid his meeting with Spurs star Harry Kane.
Spurs head to the Emirates Stadium this afternoon, making the short trip across North London to take on their fierce rivals Arsenal in a vital clash for both teams.
Pochettino’s men are firing on all cylinders right now, and sit four points clear of rivals Arsenal heading into today’s game, with Spurs receiving plaudits from all corners.
Conversely, Arsenal lost another big away game before the international break, slipping to a 3-1 defeat at Manchester City to leave Arsene Wenger’s men well off the pace.
One of the key players in today’s game will be Spurs striker Harry Kane, especially given his stunning record in London derbies – and he had a visit from an Arsenal legend this week.
Kane met up with Thierry Henry for Sky Sports ahead of today’s clash, with the Gunners hero analysing Kane’s play alongside the Spurs man, highlighting the threat he will pose today.
Spurs boss Pochettino has been asked for his take on Henry’s meeting with Kane, but revealed to Football.London that Henry met with him too, and they have a good relationship from Barcelona v Espanyol games, and he believes that it’s important for Kane to learn from former players like Henry.
“With me too. I said hello, yes,” said Pochettino. “With him, I have a good relationship. I know him from Barcelona when he was on the opposite side when I was in Espanyol and of course now he is with Arsenal people and I am Tottenham. But we keep our very good relationship because he is assisting in Belgium and we have plenty of players there so to keep a good relationship is good.”
“It is important for Harry because you can learn, always. Yesterday we had the possibility to meet Steve Perryman, Graham Roberts and Glenn Hoddle and it was fantastic. They are a relation for us and I think fantastic people you can learn from. It was fantastic to meet them yesterday for lunch at the training ground.”
Pochettino was also asked for his opinion on comments made by Trevor Loftus-Cheek, who told the Daily Mail that his son Ruben – currently on loan at Crystal Palace from Chelsea – would have been better served under Spurs boss Pochettino, but the Tottenham chief brushed off such suggestions, noting that it was assistant boss Jesus Perez who told him about the story.
“I hear but I didn’t read [about Loftus-Cheek]. Jesus [Perez] told me about that situation but I don’t have an opinion. That is the opinion of his dad,” he added.
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