Alan Pardew: “I’ve had one run-in with Arsene at West Ham when there was a last-minute goal, but otherwise he’s been fantastic.
“I have nothing but respect for him and I’ve always enjoyed watching his teams.
"His squad is very strong at the moment with lots of options and they are the third-best side in the division - and will want to improve on that.
“They are playing a slightly more conservative game and we are not shipping many goals, so I think it will be a lot tighter this time.
“This is a guy who has done an unbelievable job and the stadium should have been named after him.
“When they moved houses they couldn’t have competed in the Champions League without him being so astute in the transfer market.
“Bearing in mind the debt they had when they first moved in, he has done an absolutely marvellous job.
“He’s had a couple of difficult results recently, but Arsene will get through it as every manager does.
“His treatment at the train station after the Stoke game was one of total disrespect.
“I’m sure every Arsenal fan was ashamed of what happened and they will be looking for their team to put it right on Saturday.”