Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted his admiration for Arsene Wenger’s “special talent” despite the rivalry with Arsenal, while also discussing his desire to have another dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson.
Pochettino was talking ahead of the tie between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, a game that could benefit his Spurs side depending on the result.
The former Southampton boss is believed to have had dinner with Sir Alex in May, around the same time that rumours surfaced about him possibly taking over at United.
He told ESPN Argentina: “I would like to have another chance to have dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson because he is very hard to understand, especially because of my English.
“Those were two very enriching hours, especially because of who he is and what he transmits, such as his energy, his personality and his character. These are things I also saw when he was on the sideline or at a news conference. To have met with him for me is a dream come true.
“To be that successful, have ups and downs and yet know how to reinvent oneself season after season only can be done by people who have enormous talent and mental capacity as is also the case with Arsene Wenger.
“Beyond the fact that Arsenal are our arch-rivals, you have to recognise that to be in charge over 20 years, you have to have some special talent. Without that, it is impossible.”
Spurs are currently in fifth place, three points behind local rivals Arsenal and three ahead of Jose Mourinho’s men who are sixth.
Their next two games are both London derbies as they host West Ham before they visit Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, the following weekend.
Sandwiched between those league games is a must-win Champions League group game in Monaco, where they will need all three points in order to have any chance of making the knock-out stage of the competition.
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