The Tottenham Hotspur boss was full of praise for his Arsenal counterpart.
Speaking to Football London, Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has described Arsenal counterpart Unai Emery as an ‘unbelievable manager’ ahead of Sunday’s North London derby.
The Emirates Stadium plays host this weekend as both London giants renew hostilities for part one of two local meetings this month, with Tottenham visiting the Gunners again later in December for a League Cup quarter-final.
Former Espanyol coach Pochettino has history against Emery in Spain, only beating the Arsenal boss – then at Sevilla and Valencia – once in six meetings, losing four.
“Of course, he is for me an unbelievable manager,” Pochettino told Football London when asked if he has his work cut out for him.
“He showed [that] at different clubs in Europe. It will be tough to play against him, against teams managed by him and Arsenal have very good players and of course it is a derby, an exciting game which means a lot for the fans.
“It’s an emotional component, which makes it more difficult to play these type of games.”
Both Premier League sides are bang in form at the moment, which makes the first North London clash in the post-Arsene Wenger era even more exciting.
Under Emery, Arsenal are unbeaten in 18 games across all competitions – 14 wins – and Pochettino’s Tottenham bring a six-match unbeaten run to the Emirates.
There’ll be plenty of animosity on the pitch, but there will be a high level of respect between both coaches in the dugout. In fact, Emery recommended that Valencia hire the Argentine coach back in 2012, so the Arsenal man has clearly known for a while that Pochettino was well equipped to manage a top club.
Spurs are three points ahead of Emery’s side in the Premier League table.
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