Former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino (Picture: Sky Sports) Mauricio Pochettino believes Mikel Arteta is the best coach in the Premier League as he named his title favourites for this season. Arteta has transformed Arsenal’s fortunes since he was appointed as Unai Emery’s replacement in December 2019. The Spaniard led the Gunners to three successive runners-up finishes in the league before finally getting over the line last season to win the club’s first title in 22 years. The defending champions strengthened in several areas over the summer and have made a perfect start to the new season, with five straight wins in all competitions. Sign up for In The Mixer, Metro's football newsletter Get exclusive analysis and previews of the biggest games every Friday. Sign up now for free. And Pochettino, who previously managed Tottenham and Chelsea, believes that Arteta’s prowess makes Arsenal the ‘team to beat’ this season. ‘Arsenal are the most consistent team and for me Mikel [Arteta] is the best coach in the Premier League today,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘Knowing what he needs to do, it’s going to be tough to beat them.’ Pochettino was full of praise for Mikel Arteta (Picture: Getty) One of Pochettino’s former teams, Chelsea, have also made a positive start to the season under new boss Xabi Alonso. The Blues suffered their first competitive loss under Alonso last weekend against Arsenal, but bounced back in midweek with an entertaining 6-3 win over Leeds United in the Carabao Cup. Mikel Arteta’s side have made a good start to their title defence (Picture: Getty) And Pochettino is confident that Chelsea’s change in transfer approach this summer can make them league title contenders alongside Arsenal this season. ‘Chelsea are buying players like Rogers, Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto in the past, players in this way that you can expect to fight and be a contender for the Premier League,’ he added. ‘Of course they are disappointed after the defeat against Arsenal, but I think we need to give time to Xabi’s first season after three games in the Premier League.’ Pochettino was also not shy about his desire to one day return to the Premier League, insisting: ‘I have the ambition. My dream now is to be in the USA for four years, but after that, why not? ‘We are still young, and I think coming back is always my goal; to win the Premier League, to be in the Premier League and to build a project with the possibility of winning. ‘I love the football here. I think to have the chance again is one of my wishes and I hope that happens.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
Turning their attention back to Serie A duties on Sunday evening, Napoli will welcome Bologna to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. With a stacked schedule from across Europe’s elite domestic leagues this weekend, there are plenty of attractive betting promotions available. Verdict: Rasmus Hojlund over 0.5 shots on target Best Odds: 2/5 Bookmaker: 1xBet Napoli Starting […] The post Prediction: Napoli vs Bologna appeared first on SoccerNews.
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