Mauricio Pochettino has offered up a glowing tribute to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on the eve of his first north London derby as Tottenham head coach.
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Pochettino is just a few weeks into his reign as Spurs boss, but he is already eyeing up an extended stay in the White Hart Lane hot-seat and admitted he has dreams of following in Wenger's footsteps and remaining in charge of the club for a decade and more.
"Tottenham for me is a big job, it's a dream to stay here like Wenger or to have the time Arsene had in Arsenal," stated the former Southampton manager. "For this, I need to show my skill, I need to work hard, I need to get the results.
"In football you never know, you need to work with passion that we have. We are positive in our job, in our skill, with the players. We try to arrive as far as possible.
"I have full respect for him, he is a great manager, who has done a great job at Arsenal. An 18-year stay in charge is not easy and it's a big gap with me at Tottenham."
Pochettino's Spurs head to Emirates Stadium on Saturday looking to kick-start a Premier League campaign that stumbled once again with a 1-0 home defeat against West Bromwich Albion last Sunday.
He is likely to come up against one of his Calum Chambers following the young defender's move to Arsenal in July and the coach who moulded him at Southampton last season is not surprised by the progress he is making under Wenger's watch.
"Calum is a great personality and he has great talent," added Pochettino. "He deserves his moment now because one year ago, at the start of pre-season at Southampton, he was playing in the development squad.
"Step by step, he won his place in the first-team. It is not only because he has talent, but also because he has great character."