Mauricio Pochettino has recalled memories from his playing days with Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta.

Poch and Arteta played together at PSG, and continue to share a great friendship even decades after.

The Chelsea manager was recently asked what it felt like playing with the Spaniard, to which he said: “Amazing memories. When you connect with a person like him, we shared values and a passion of football. I can you he is part of my family. From day one when he arrived in Paris, we arrived together, spend time together, our families also.

“The first few months in the hotel and then we lived very close and it was an amazing history. It does not surprise me what he is doing because he was a coach already at 17. Trust me, he was very good in his judgement. He is still really young, improving day by day, he can be one of the greatest managers in the world.”

On them being up against each other as head coaches for the first time, Poch added:

“The first time? I think he was at Manchester City when we played with Tottenham. I consider him like a coach with Pep. It’s like my coaching staff.

“It’s going to be really nice because my love for him is there and it’s a family. It’s more than friends. It’s good, it’s going to be strange but we are competitive, all of the coaches, we are very competitive when we play. If he is part of my family, we want to win and to destroy the opponent. It will be strange but I will feel proud to see him.”