Emery sends warning message to Pochettino over taking Man Utd job
Tottenham boss is among the front-runners to replace Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford but his friend-turned-rival wants him to think very carefully first
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UNAI EMERY told pal Mauricio Pochettino: think very carefully if Manchester United come calling.
United want the Tottenham manager to become Jose Mourinho’s long-term successor at Old Trafford.
Arsenal chief Emery is good friends with Pochettino — who he comes up against tonight in their Carabao Cup quarter-final — after the pair managed in Spain at the same time.
And the former Sevilla chief believes Poch might be better off staying put.
When asked if the Argentine would make a good United boss, Emery said: “He’s very happy at Tottenham.
“He’s coaching a very big team with very big players. They are in the Champions League and are also in a better position in the Premier League than Manchester United.
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“His performance at Tottenham is very big. I don’t know if he’s thinking to change for another club but I am looking at him with a very big commitment to Tottenham and he’s creating a good performance, a good idea at Tottenham. Tottenham improved a lot with him.”
Emery is aware just how tough tonight’s Emirates clash with their bitter rivals will be despite beating Spurs 4-2 in the league at the start of this month.
He said: “Their level now is very big. They have very good players, the coach is working very well, they are winning a lot of matches.
“When they are on the ball they are a very organised team, with their movement, they like a lot of possession and progress with the passes. They are physically very hard and have attacking players with very big performances.
“We need to play a big match and it will be more difficult than the first.”
There was plenty of bad blood after that battle the Gunners won just over two weeks ago.
Arsenal’s dressing-room selfies upset Tottenham and Eric Dier was criticised for making a “shhhhh” gesture to the home fans after dragging Spurs level at 1-1. But Emery has not banned his side from celebrating.
He added: “The emotion is not bad. Showing our emotion, the players, the fans and me, is good. But every time we must respect them.
“Showing emotion is very important. Football is emotion. In a derby, maybe this emotion is greater. When you win it’s amazing, when you lose it’s horrible.
“But I say to them that in every match, we need to respect the opposition. Against Southampton, against Tottenham, against Manchester United, against Huddersfield, it’s the same.
“This respect is shown by playing with a big motivation and a lot of excitement to win against them.”
Spurs fan Averof Panteli was banned from attending football matches for four years and fined £500 yesterday for throwing a banana skin at Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when he scored at the Emirates.
Gabon striker Aubameyang appeared upset by the punishment.
He wrote on Instagram: “Four years and we start again.”
But Emery said: “It is a good decision. It was not respect.”
ARSENAL (likely): Cech, Lichtsteiner, Sokratis, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles, Guendouzi, Torreira, Monreal, Ozil, Iwobi, Lacazette.
SPURS (likely): Gazzaniga, Walker-Peters, Foyth, Alderweireld, Davies, Sissoko, Winks, Skipp, Eriksen, Son, Dele.