Mauricio Pochettino insists he wouldn't swap Tottenham's improvements for Arsenal's two FA Cups in three years
Spurs' 'principle option' is to win the Premier League and the Champions League
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Your support makes all the difference.Mauricio Pochettino has re-iterated his belief in the primacy of the Premier League over other trophies, saying that he would not swap Tottenham Hotspur’s second placed finish last season for Arsenal lifting the FA Cup at Wembley this year.
Spurs play Arsenal in the north London derby on Saturday with Pochettino’s side steadily improving under his management, but yet to win their first major trophy. While Arsenal have been flat-lining in the league for years, they have won the 2015 and 2017 FA Cups since Pochettino has been managing Tottenham. But Pochettino has made it clear this season his priorities are the Premier League and the Champions League, rather than trying to win a lesser trophy for the sake of it.
So when Pochettino was asked if he would swap his league improvement for Arsenal’s trophy, he said no. “Because Tottenham is Tottenham and Arsenal are in another stage of their project,” he explained, making clear how much respect he has for Wenger.
“I don’t care where they are. After three and a half years we achieve a lot, and I would like to achieve more. To be first and not second and to win cups, but we are in different process of our project. I admire what Arsene Wenger did at Arsenal, but we are at a different stage in the project.”
While Pochettino is desperate to win at the Emirates for the first time in his career, he said that a broader view of his work was needed. And that pressure to win individual games or competitions did not show the bigger picture, and the bigger ambition, to win the Premier League or Champions League itself.
“It is a massive game for us but we must assess team in a long period,” Pochettino said. “After three and a half years we have team that can compete with Real Madrid. It is an important game, a derby, and more than three points. But it is important to keeping doing well in a long process, important to improve every game and every season.”
There are bigger prizes than the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, after all. “To say we can win not only cups but Premier League and Champions League, that is the pressure we are building,” he said. “The pressure to win only cups is not useful for us. If we can win FA Cup, Carabao Cup, fantastic. But the principal option is to win Premier League and put Tottenham in position to win Champions League.”
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