Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has told Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to focus on his own side following remarks the Frenchman made in the lead up to the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
Despite currently sitting in sixth in the Premier League, Arsenal have found success in the cup, advancing past reigning Premier League champions Chelsea following a 2-1 aggregate victory.
When asked before the second leg whether winning the tie would change the mood around the Gunners, Wenger said it would make no difference to his public perception and criticised the media for "celebrating some teams who have not been in a final for 25 years".
Despite Wenger's claims to the contrary that he wasn't referring to North London rivals Spurs, Pochettino responded by saying (as quoted by the Telegraph): "He [Wenger] is a special manager but everyone sometimes makes a mistake and, for me, he made a mistake to talk about us or a different team.
"For me he is and will always be one of the best managers in the world, I respect him, but I think he needs to talk for himself and for Arsenal. There’s no point to talk about another team.
“I'm so young. Praise? Of course we receive praise. Football is not only to win trophies, it's the circumstances of different clubs.”
Throughout his tenure as Spurs boss, Pochettino has established himself as one of the most exciting young coaches in world football, helping to build an incredibly impressive, well balanced side that is capable of challenging the top teams across Europe.
Although Spurs' last trophy came in 2008 as they beat London rivals Chelsea 2-1 in the League Cup final, Pochettino will be eyeing more silverware to bring home for the North London outfit as they prepare to face Newport County in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
"We have to be ready to fight and put ourselves in the same level as them," Pochettino said.
"The same motivation, no complaints, no excuse-finding, we try to believe that we are going to play against Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Juventus in the Champions League."
League Two side Newport reached the fourth round of the FA Cup having already overcome Walsall, Cambridge United and Leeds United and will look to overcome a side in a high division than them for the third time in the competition in order to advance to the last 16.
- 90Min