Ahead of our match at Arsenal, Spurs manager Martin Jol has spoken about his opposite number at the Emirates Stadium.
Jol said: “We don’t speak. He is not one of my mates. Chrisy [Hughton] is my mate. Maybe [Jose] Mourinho is close. We talk. Nine out of 10 managers I like.”
The Dutchman isn’t sympathetic to Wenger, who has lost his last two matches. He said: “Do I pity him? Why should I do that? I don’t feel anything.”
Even though Arsenal’s form isn’t great, Jol doesn’t think there is more expectation on us to beat them. He said: “I would probably say that if we could play at home tomorrow. But it is still difficult to go to their ground.
“If they had lost two or three home games I would be surprised, but they’re still fine at home. Their away form is not as good, but I’m not surprised again because in England anyone can lose away games on the trot.
“I’m sure they’re still able to beat any other team – Liverpool, Manchester United, [CSKA] Moscow – but you have to convert chances, score goals, and that has been their only problem. I feel that Arsenal still have a great team.”
Speaking of the pressure on the Frenchman, Jol said: “Maybe you could talk about me or eight other managers, but not about him. For the last six years he has played the best football in England.
“Of course he invested a lot, but he was brave enough to bring Fabregas and Hleb into the team. No one knew who Hleb was.
“He’s rebuilding a team for probably the fifth time, and he will have a great team again. I still feel that until this moment he played some very good football. He’s one of the few in Europe who can combine ‘results football’ with playing attractively.
“We have the same task as Wenger: to build a very good team. I feel pound for pound we are very close to other teams, but it’s about ‘specific quality’. I’m sure if we had, for example, Thierry Henry, we would probably be very close to any other team.
“If you want to be a top team you need one or two top players. Maybe Lennon or Berbatov could be that for us, but that is for the future.”