Alan Pardew and Arsène Wenger have crossed swords in the past but Newcastle United’s manager holds his Arsenal counterpart in such high regard that he believes the Emirates Stadium should be renamed in the Frenchman’s honour.

“The stadium should be named after Arsène,” said Pardew, whose side visit Wenger’s team on Saturday tea-time. “The job he did with that move across from Highbury, when he had all that debt and had to be very careful with his transfer budget, was incredible. It was a miracle that he kept them in the Champions League.”

Pardew was shocked by those Arsenal fans who booed and heckled Wenger at Stoke station last Saturday, after a 3-2 defeat by Mark Hughes’s side. “The incident at the train station was totally disrespectful,” he added. “I think 90% of Arsenal fans would have been ashamed of that and we could get the backlash of it. The crowd on Saturday will want to show how much they love him. After Sir Alex Ferguson he’s the best manager in Premier League history. José Mourinho hasn’t done enough yet.”

Pardew feels the media, both social and traditional, have a lot to answer for. “I think everyone at Arsenal knows Arsène’s done a magnificent job – but all of us managers are on six- or seven-game trials with the media and social media. We have to accept that. Arsène knows instant results are massive, even for someone who has been in the position as long as he has.”

Wenger’s pain at the Stoke defeat may have been slightly assuaged by the news that Newcastle had ended Chelsea’s unbeaten run and, more pertinently, torn up their embryo “Invincibles” tag by beating them 2-1 at St James’ Park last Saturday. “Yes, I imagine Arsène might have had a glass of wine after that result,” he said.

“When that Invincibles tag belongs to you you don’t want to lose it to anyone but we can only worry about us.”

The trip to the Emirates, where the novice goalkeeper Jak Alnwick will make only his second appearance for Newcastle, represents a daunting challenge. “Arsène’s squad is very strong at the moment and they are playing a slightly more conservative game so I think it will be tight,” said Pardew, who expects to be on cordial terms with the coach in the adjacent dug-out.

“I’ve had one run-in with Arsène when I was at West Ham and there was a last-minute goal but otherwise he’s been fantastic with me,” he said. “I have nothing but respect for him and I’ve always enjoyed watching his teams.”