Pochettino hails Arteta ahead of face off with Arsenal

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has nothing but good words for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta as he hailed him for his achievements with the Gunners.

Arteta has been quite successful since he took over at Emirates Stadium.

Last season, he led them to a second-place finish in the Premier League, which is their highest at the end of a campaign since his last playing for the club, in 2015/16.

Pochettino in a statement via Chelsea website insists he always knew what the Spaniard would be capable of as a manager.

‘He’s not surprised me what he’s doing because he was already a coach when I knew him when he was 18. Already he was a coach and trust me he was really good, the judgement and how he sees football. He’s great, still really young and improving day by day.

‘When you are coaching at Arsenal and you are showing what the team is showing it is because he’s one of the best. Young or not young, he’s showing that he’s one of the best coaches in the world today.

‘It’s not only about being good with tactics and football knowledge. It’s about how you manage people, how you deal with the media, how you deal with the owners, how you deal with the players. It’s not only about being clever in the way that you prepare the games but of course he’s one of the best.’