Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists he was never close to joining Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham coaching staff

Arteta took charge of Arsenal in December 2019 but before that he spent more than three years working as part of Pep Guardiola’s backroom staff at Manchester City.

The Spaniard moved to Manchester after retiring from Arsenal in 2016 but at the time was also attracting interest from Tottenham.

Spurs were then managed by Pochettino, who played with Arteta at Paris Saint-Germain, and the pair have remained close friends ever since.

But when asked if he was close to joining Pochettino or if he could have worked at Tottenham, Arteta replied ahead of Thursday’s derby in North London: “No. My relationship with Mauricio has been going out since I was 18 and I always said that for me he was like a football father.

“I have an amazing relationship with him, but unfortunately for my playing experience, he was a Spurs manager and I was here at the time. And that relationship doesn’t change, but it didn’t. [of me being close to joining Spurs].”