Arsenal vs Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino reveals he wants to match success of Arsene Wenger

Tottenham manager praises Arsenal defender Calum Chambers who he coached at Southampton last season

Mauricio Pochettino wants to emulate the impact made by his local rival Arsène Wenger (Getty Images)

Mauricio Pochettino says he wants to emulate the impact made by his local rival Arsène Wenger, as he prepares for his first north London derby as Tottenham Hotspur manager against Arsenal on Saturday evening.

It will be Wenger’s 44th derby but the Argentine coach said that he “dreams” of doing well enough in charge of Spurs to deserve that much time in the job. “Tottenham for me is a big job, it’s a dream to stay here like him, or to have the time that Arsène has had in Arsenal,” Pochettino said.

“For this, I need to show my skill, I need to work hard, I need to get the results. In football you never know, you need to work with passion that we have. We are positive in our job, in our skill, with the players. We try to arrive as far as possible.”

Pochettino said that he has a “good relationship” with Wenger dating from his time as Southampton manager. When in charge of his old club, Pochettino coached Calum Chambers, who joined Arsenal for £16m in the summer. Pochettino praised the 19-year-old. “Calum is a great personality and has a great talent,” Pochettino said. “He deserves his moment now because one year ago at the start of pre-season at Southampton he was playing in the development squad and, step by step, he deserved to play and win his place in the first team. It is not only because he has talent, he also has a great personality and character.”