Unai Emery has questioned whether Mauricio Pochettino would want to leave Tottenham to join Manchester United next summer.

The Arsenal manager, whose team play Spurs in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, is friends with Pochettino and claimed the Argentinian does not need to move.

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“I think he’s very happy at Tottenham,” Emery said. “I think he’s coaching a very big team, with very big players. They are now in the Champions League [last 16] and they are also in a better position in the Premier League than Manchester United.

“I think his performance at Tottenham is very big. I don’t know if he’s thinking to change but I am looking at him with a very big commitment to Tottenham and he’s creating a good performance too, a good idea. Tottenham have improved a lot with him.”

Arsenal are aiming to secure a second north-London derby win this month, having beaten Tottenham 4-2 at the Emirates in the Premier League.

Emery, asked how he perceived the gap between his team and Pochettino’s, said: “Now? It’s five points. That’s the reality. They are doing this season their way in the Premier League and Champions League very consistently. The demand on us to keep up is a very big one.

“Tomorrow is different because it’s Carabao Cup and we want also to show them we can come with a big performance and can win. They will come with a very big ambition too, because after the first derby they need to show us and their supporters a big performance.

“I think is a very good match for the supporters, a very big match for the players and a very big match for us, the coaches.”

Emery would not rule out continuing his policy of selecting less experienced players in the Carabao Cup. “We can use some young players, because we think with a big performance, they can help us win,” he said.

He said the central defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos would be available against Spurs after recovering from injury.