Mauricio Pochettino is the very rarest of Tottenham managers.

The Argentine went through his first season against Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal without suffering defeat. Yes, at the time of writing, Pochettino is a Tottenham manager who hasn’t lost a north London derby to Arsène Wenger.

All that could change on Wednesday night, and Tottenham fans are sure to feel somewhat riled as their manager praised the Arsenal boss in the lead up to the League Cup third round game.

“I always praise a lot to him because I think he’s a great manager,” Pochettino told the media. “I admire him.

“He’s in charge for 18 or 19 years and that’s because he has real talent. It’s not easy to stay at a club for a long time like this.”

Any Tottenham manager should know that’s not easy. Since Wenger arrived in north London in 1996, Arsenal’s local rivals have had 11 permanent bosses.

The Arsenal manager is set to name a strong side for his 45th north London derby. There’s no doubt that Pochettino is talented and he seems to be getting more out of his Tottenham side in recent weeks but make no mistake, there’s only one team in north London.

Wednesday night provides Arsenal with a chance to find their form, and it would be perfect to do so while putting Spurs back in their place.