Arsenal Boss Aims Cheeky Dig As Spurs After Offering Trophy Advice To Pochettino

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has aimed a cheeky dig at Tottenham ahead of of the North London Derby after offering advice to Mauricio Pochettino on how to end their trophy drought.

Wenger has largely enjoyed his rivalry with Tottenham during his stay at Arsenal as last season was the first time Spurs finished above the Gunners during his 21-year reign.

There is no doubt Tottenham have closed the gap considerably and they head in to the game tomorrow as the slight bookmakers favourites adding weight to the idea that there has been a power shift in North London.

However, Wenger played down that thought by reminding reporters of his 20 years of dominance over Spurs and the fact that it’s Arsenal have won 3 FA Cups in the last four years.

The Frenchman then aimed a cheeky dig at his counterpart by offering advice to Pochettino on how they need to overcome ‘fear’ in order to finish the job and win a major trophy.

Wenger went on to say that while Pochettino is doing an ‘exceptional’ job at Tottenham, he says it’s not easy to ‘get over the line and win trophies’ – which was a sure reminder of his rivals trophy drought.

When asked if Arsenal were underdogs tomorrow, Wenger is quoted as saying by the Mirror:

“For 20 years! No, not at all. Tottenham are a good side, but we have the quality to win this game.”

“It is difficult to win trophies. It is difficult to finish any job. You do it by keeping your nerves and getting the players to focus on what is important.

“And at some stage, by fighting a bit against your inhibitions – the fear that you won’t get over the line. You need to focus on what is important and not focus on the trophy too much.

“I don’t want to judge people. I think he’s [Pochettino] done an exceptional job and he’s a good manager. After that, in our job it’s the distances and the quality that makes the difference.

“He has all the ingredients to go a long way, but overall it’s very difficult to predict what will happen in his career. It is up to us to get over the line and win trophies and it is not easy. But it is a quality, patience.”

I think it’s safe to say Wenger was having a not-so-cheeky dig at not only Tottenahm and Pochettino but also his critics who say he’s finished and should leave Arsenal.

For all the praise Spurs and Pochettino have had in recent years, they still haven’t got a trophy to show for it and have won just one League Cup [2008] in the past 18 seasons.

Wenger on the other hand has lifted 3 FA Cups in four years but still get blasted by all corners of the media and even his own fans, so I think this was a little reminder to his critics that it’s not that easy to win trophies.

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