Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is relishing the opportunity to face Unai Emery in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, rating the Spaniard as one of the greatest bosses in the game.
Spurs overcame the challenge of West Ham United with a 3-1 win on Wednesday night and set up a mouth-watering north London derby against Arsenal in the next round.
Arsenal, on the other hand, picked up a narrow and a nervy 2-1 win over Blackpool, as both sides finished the game with 10 men.
After the game, Pochettino revealed he admires Emery even though the Spaniard is managing Spurs’ arch-rivals Arsenal.
“I think he is one of the greatest managers", Pochettino told a press conference.
“Of course it is always good to challenge them, like Pep [Guardiola] on Monday or Manuel [Pellegrini] tonight and I have great respect for him and the coaching staff and of course.
“It is a little bit ironic that our worst enemies in West Ham and Arsenal.
"But I love Manuel and Unai and we have a very good relationship”, Pochettino added.
Emery leads Pochettino in the head to head record, with four wins, one draw, and two losses, but the two managers last faced each other in April 2012 when both were managing in the Spanish La Liga.
The two sides will also square off in the Premier League, along with the EFL Cup, in the month of December with Arsenal hosting both games.
