Mauricio Pochettino believes new Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will become one of the ‘greatest coaches in football’

Speaking to Sky Sports back in February, the Argentine tipped his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate to go on and have a very successful spell in management.

In fact, such is the regard Pochettino holds the Spaniard in, he believes the ex-Gunners midfielder can go on to become one of the ‘greatest coaches in football’.

Asked whether he can be a success as a no.1, he replied: “Yes of course, he’s going to be.

“He’s top, a top personality, character. I think he has the qualities to be one of the best,” he said earlier this year.

“He was very young when I played with him at Paris Saint-Germain, he was 17 years old when he arrived and he was brilliant.”

He continued: “He was brilliant not only because of his talent but his maturity on the pitch, to be a leader, his knowledge about football surprised me as he was a young player who had a capacity to talk in the same level as a 30-year-old player.

“For me, he’s going to be one of the best coaches when he decides to be a coach. He has the capacity to be one of the greatest coaches in football, for sure.”

Meanwhile, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has opened the door on Pochettino returning to the club in the future, after making the ‘incredibly difficult’ decision to relieve him of his duties last month.

“You have to understand I had built up a personal relationship with Mauricio over five-and-a-half years,” Levy told the Evening Standard.

“It is not something I ever wanted. Personally, it was incredibly difficult, I told him that and he understood.

“He’s been in football (a long time), he understands. It’s not personal and I’m sure he’ll come back stronger and get an opportunity to manage another great club. Maybe one day he’ll come back to us.”