Tottenham boss – ‘It would be impossible to manage Arsenal’

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has ruled out ever managing North London rivals Arsenal, reports The Daily Star.

The 45-year-old has been in charge at White Hart Lane since 2014 after doing a fine job at Southampton previously, and has taken Spurs from hovering outside of the Premier League’s top four places to a regular feature near the top of the table.

The Argentine is very highly-rated due to his commitment to giving youth players a chance and overall style of play his teams produce, and it has in the past led to speculation that he could one day leave Spurs to manage some of Europe’s biggest clubs, notably Barcelona.

However, Pochettino has ruled out a move to both Barcelona and Arsenal, citing his Espanyol, where he spent eight years as a player and three years as manager, and Tottenham loyalties for such a decision.

He said: ‘I am an Espanyol supporter, and I don’t speak too much.

‘If Daniel Levy sacked me in a few years it would be impossible to manage Arsenal. For me it is more important to be loyal.

‘I love Espanyol and it is like with Tottenham and Arsenal it would be impossible one day to move to Arsenal.

This comes after the former Southampton manager refused to rule out succeeding Luis Enrique at the Nou Camp, with the Spaniard stepping down at the end of the season after three years in charge, in which time he led the Catalans to the treble in 2015.

And with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger under pressure at the Emirates Stadium, and having yet to agree a new deal at the club beyond the summer, speculation was also building about who might replace him in North London.

However, it won’t be Pochettino, who will instead focus on maintaining Tottenham’s slim Premier League title chances when they visit Burnley on Saturday.