SPURS ARE GREAT

The words you never thought you’d hear Arsene Wenger say...

ARSENE WENGER says Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham have emerged as successors to his successful Arsenal sides.

The French boss won three Premier League titles, including the 2004 Invincibles, two Doubles and seven FA Cups in his 22-year Gunners reign.

But as he plots a route back into the game after his sudden departure last summer, he admits it is arch-rivals Tottenham who are bringing through the best young players with the potential to succeed.

Wenger calls himself an Arsenal fan now and is desperate not to offend successor Unai Emery, but he had to concede Tottenham lead the way when asked if Poch was the current boss closest to his own winning methods.

He said: “Tottenham have a good young generation – a core of young players such as Winks, Kane, Dele Alli and Dier like we had at Arsenal.

“Man United had it too, with their Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and Butt generation, but now Tottenham have established a good, basic platform to develop from. Their players are maturing too.”

Wenger, speaking after being handed a Lifetime Achievement prize at the Laureus World Sport Awards in Monaco, proudly finished above Tottenham for the first two decades of his reign until he stumbled in 2017 and last season too.

Blame for the slump was partly levelled at the fact he had years of selling his best players to fund the move to the Emirates Stadium.

But Wenger does not think Poch and the Tottenham faithful will suffer the same fate and lose star men as they prepare to move into their new ground.

He explained: “We built the Emirates without one penny injected by anybody.

“So that meant we could only survive by having a good transfer policy, and by selling our best players.

“People forget that now because the finances of football have changed as the television money has improved a lot.

“The weight of a transfer is less today because TV money has doubled compared to a few years ago.”

Wenger also claimed his success at Arsenal paved the way for coaches such as Pochettino to follow in his footsteps. He added: “When I first came to England I had to show people that we can win.

“I think I opened the door for all the managers from foreign countries, because there was a belief that a foreign manager cannot be successful in England. I managed to do that, and that is, of course, significant.”

Wenger concluded he is addicted to working in football.

“I cannot switch off and die,” he said. “When I wake up in the morning, my first thought is ‘What kind of game is on tonight’?”