POTTER RELISHES BIG CLASH WITH WENGER
BOSS OF MINNOWS OSTERSUND EAGER TO PIT HIS WITS AGAINST ARSENAL LEGEND
Graham Potter insists he would be a “fool” not to try to pick the brain of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger over the next week.
The Gunners travel to face Swedish side Ostersund tonight, with the hosts looking to continue their fairytale story which has seen them go from fourth-tier minnows to the surprise package of this season’s Europa League.
Potter took charge of the club, formed a month after Arsene Wenger was appointed Arsenal boss in 1996, seven years ago and has not looked back.
Under the tutelage of the former West Brom and Southampton defender, the club has risen from the fourth division to the Allsvenskan and last April won the Svenska Cupen – their first ever major trophy.
His journey can be compared to that of Wenger, who went off to manage in Japan after spells at Monaco and Nancy, before taking his post at Arsenal.
Since then he has won the Premier League three times and lifted a record seven FA Cups – with Potter admitting he would like to learn as much as he can from the Frenchman. “I would love to, of course,” he replied when asked if he will be looking to pick Wenger’s brain.
“I would be a fool not to. The experiences he has had and the things he has achieved, he is an inspiration so it would be foolish of me not to, if he would be so kind.”
Wenger has started to come under criticism once more as Arsenal’s push for a return to the Premier League top-four, and Champions League qualification, falters.
The Gunners are now eight points behind fourth-placed Chelsea following defeat to Tottenham in Saturday’s north London derby, but Potter only sees Wenger as an inspiration.
“It is not an easy profession and after doing it at a low level for a number of years you realise that it is a challenge, being able to sustain that for so long,” he said.
“So the ones who have done it for so long I have the utmost respect for. I think it (criticism) is part of the game, part of the noise around football. I have the utmost respect for him. He’s an inspiration for me.”
Asked to compare the tie to an FA Cup match, Potter added: “For us in this type of game, as we have approached all the games in Europe, we have tried to play as well as we can, be ourselves in the game and use the opportunity to show what we are about.
“Normally in the third round of the FA Cup you have not beaten Galatasaray or PAOK or Hertha Berlin. But in terms of the size of the two teams, absolutely. We are obviously all excited about the game and the visit of Arsenal, a Champions League club.
“It goes without saying if we are successful it’s a huge moment for everybody connected with the club.”