Mourinho aiming to put one over Arteta in derby

Jose Mourinho concedes he has plenty of affection for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, but is determined to put one over the Spaniard in today’s north London derby.

Spurs are a point behind Arsenal, who are two points away from the sixth-placed Wolves. Mourinho comes up against a man who was with him at Barcelona way back in the 1990s. It is a game that will go a long way to deciding who will achieve Europa League qualification, so Mourinho is tempering the niceties with a man in his first managerial role after learning the ropes as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City.

“I met Mikel when he was a kid in Barcelona. I was there with Mr [Louis] Van Gaal. He was really, really a kid,” the Spurs manager said. “Time flies, but in the end you always look at them as the kid you have a great feeling for.

“When he became Pep’s assistant, I started calling him every time I met him ‘Mister’, not Mikel. I like him very, very much. I hope everything goes well for him in his career but in this moment he is in a rival club, a club that fights for the same thing we fight – a European position – and I cannot wish him good in this position.”

The pair may be at opposite ends of their managerial careers, but their current tasks across north London are pretty similar. Both men took their job mid-season and are expected to build the club back into Champions League challengers after tough spells.

“The nature of his job is similar to mine, to Carlo [Ancelotti, Everton manager]. You arrive in the middle of the season with a double focus, which is not easy,” Mourinho said.

“On one side, you want to get results immediately, but on the other side you have an eye on the future. We are speaking about important clubs that want to do better in the future. It’s half now, half in the future. The reality is we have to fight for points, which means Europa qualification and a special rival feeling between Arsenal and Tottenham.”

Mourinho, meanwhile, insists he can bring success to the club, if he is given time like Jurgen Klopp was at champions Liverpool.

The Portuguese pointed to Klopp, who joined Liverpool in 2015 and guided them to the Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup last year before ending their 30-year wait for an English league crown.

“How long it took for Jurgen and Liverpool? Four years ... buying one of the best goalkeepers in the world, buying one of the best centre-backs in the world and so on,” Mourinho said.

“I’m focused on my threeyear contract. I believe that in my three-year contract we can win trophies.”