%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20id%3D%22Layer_1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20width%3D%2239px%22%20height%3D%2240px%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2039%2040%22%20enable-background%3D%22new%200%200%2039%2040%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23FFFFFF%22%20d%3D%22M38.5%2C7H28.2v26h10.3V7z%22%2F%3E%0A%3Cpath%20fill-rule%3D%22evenodd%22%20clip-rule%3D%22evenodd%22%20fill%3D%22%23FFFFFF%22%20d%3D%22M26.1%2C25.5c0%2C5.8-4.1%2C7.5-12.9%2C7.5C3.9%2C33%2C0%2C31.2%2C0%2C25.2v-1.1h11.6%0A%09v2.4c0%2C0.7%2C0.1%2C1.4%2C1.2%2C1.4c1%2C0%2C1.2-0.4%2C1.2-1.3v-0.9c0-1.6-0.9-1.6-3.5-2.2C2.2%2C21.7%2C0%2C19.7%2C0%2C15.3v-0.9C0%2C9.3%2C5.5%2C7%2C12.9%2C7%0A%09c10.2%2C0%2C12.8%2C2.6%2C12.8%2C7.4v1.8h-11v-2.9c0-0.6-0.4-1.1-1.2-1.1c-0.6%2C0-1.2%2C0.4-1.2%2C1.1v0.9c0%2C1.5%2C0.9%2C2%2C3.3%2C2.5%0A%09c8%2C1.6%2C10.5%2C3.3%2C10.5%2C7.5V25.5z%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
Mauricio Pochettino Praises Unai Emery Ahead of 'Emotional' North London Derby
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has been full of praise for his Arsenal counterpart, labelling Unai Emery an 'unbelievable manager' ahead of Sunday's north London derby.
Emery took charge of Arsenal over the summer following the end of Arsene Wenger's 22 year reign. Despite losing his first two matches in charge, Emery has lead the club to an impressive 18 match unbeaten run in all competitions - including 11 games without defeat in the league.
Pochettino has been complementary of Emery, which may not be too surprising given that the two are friends; Emery recommended Pochettino to his former club Valencia in 2012 and the two have remained close since.
“Of course, he is for me an unbelievable manager, he showed [his quality] at different clubs in Europe,” Pochettino said during his press conference on Friday (as reported by Football London).
“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.”
The friendship between the two managers will have to be put to one side when Sunday rolls around. Spurs sit in third place, two places and three points above their bitter rivals, and will be looking to earn the bragging rights by Sunday evening.
Tim Sherwood picks every Spurs fan's north London derby combined XI https://t.co/PSpZTNFmtz #coys #thfc pic.twitter.com/L8P4YD79Ps
— Indy Football (@IndyFootball) November 30, 2018
Arsenal can leapfrog their rivals with a win, confirming the progress the side have made under Emery's tutelage. Mike Dean will be officiating what promises to be a hotly contested match between two bitter rivals.
