Arsene Wenger has hailed Mauricio Pochettino as a manager with a brilliant career in front of him ahead of Arsenal’s clash against Tottenham this weekend.
Wenger and Pochettino will be in opposing dugouts at Emirates Stadium on Saturday for the first north London derby of the season.
The Gunners boss spoke warmly of his counterpart at his media briefing on Thursday morning.
“He is a good manager,” Wenger said, as quoted by the Mirror live blog of his press conference (9.15am). “He has all the ingredients to go a long way.
“It’s very hard for me to predict what will happen in his career. He will be a manager for a long time.”
OPINION
There is a clear sense that Pochettino is approaching his peak years as a manager, while Wenger’s are long behind him. The Arsenal boss has continued to hoover up FA Cups in recent seasons but his team have been a long way off challenging for the major trophies and there appears to be no change in the current campaign. By contrast, Pochettino has assembled a young and vibrant Spurs side that is going places. After consecutive second and third place league finishes, Tottenham are in the title mix again this season and have already qualified for the Champions League knockout stages after their memorable win over Real Madrid.