Mauricio Pochettino vs Mikel Arteta: Complete head-to-head record
- Pochettino & Arteta spent 18 months as players at PSG
- The pair didn't crossover during Pochettino's time as Tottenham manager
- Arteta has likened Pochettino to a big brother and father figure in the past
Mikel Arteta and Mauricio Pochettino may not be linked by blood, but they formed a familial bond as players at Paris Saint-Germain.
The pair were on opposite sides of the Catalan rivalry between Espanyol and Barcelona when they arrived in the French capital on the same week in January 2001 but were stuffed into the same hotel room as the team's new Spanish speakers.
Arteta, a decade younger than the former Espanyol captain, described Pochettino as "like a father" towards the end of his playing days.
"He really looked after me," Arteta remembered. "I will always be grateful for what he did for me and I respect him for that."
However, the Barcelona academy graduate didn't follow every pearl of wisdom Pochettino laid next to the chocolate on his pillow.
"He said don't go into coaching because it's too hard," Arteta laughed. Now a manager himself, Arteta viewed their relationship as fraternal rather than paternal.
"He took me under his arm and looked after me like a little brother," the Gunners boss reflected ahead of his first managerial meeting with Pochettino.
Barely a month after Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur at the end of 2019, Arteta was hired as Arsenal's head coach on the other side of north London. After taking over PSG with mixed success, Pochettino returned to the English capital in the summer of 2023 with Chelsea. More than two decades after ordering room service in Paris, the pair finally pitted their wits against one another from opposite dugouts.
Mauricio Pochettino vs Mikel Arteta H2H record
1. Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal - October 2023
The first meeting between Chelsea and Arsenal in the 2023/24 season came at Stamford Bridge and marked the first ever clash between Pochettino and Arteta as managers.
The Gunners were favoured to pick up all three points having recently bested Manchester City but the Blues raced into a two-goal courtesy of Cole Palmer's penalty and Mykhailo Mudryk's lob.
However, Chelsea couldn't close out the performance and had to settle for a point as Declan Rice pounced on a Robert Sanchez error and Leandro Trossard finished smartly to end the scoring at 2-2.
Mauricio Pochettino vs Mikel Arteta - Complete H2H record
- Games played: 1
- Pochettino wins: 0
- Draws: 1
- Arteta wins: 0
Goals scored
- Teams managed by Pochettino: 2
- Teams managed by Arteta: 2
Top scorers in Mauricio Pochettino vs Mikel Arteta fixtures
Player | Team | Goals scored |
|---|---|---|
Cole Palmer | Chelsea | 1 |
Mykhailo Mudryk | Chelsea | 1 |
Declan Rice | Arsenal | 1 |
Leandro Trossard | Arsenal | 1 |
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