Antonio Conte has advised Mikel Arteta to stop ‘complaining’ following Arsenal’s derby defeat to Tottenham on Thursday.
Arsenal wasted the chance to secure Champions League qualification after being beaten 3-0 at North London rivals Tottenham, with Conte’s side closing the gap on the Gunners to just a single point in the race for the top four.
Arteta was critical of the officials following the clash, with Arsenal conceding a contentious penalty before having Rob Holding sent off in the first half.
Spurs boss Conte has hit back at the Spaniard following his comments, however, calling on Arteta to focus on his own side and ‘not to keep complaining’.
“Arteta is a really good coach but he has just started this job and he has to be more focused on his team and not to keep complaining,” Conte said in his post-match press conference.
“In six months here [at Spurs], I have listened to him complaining a lot. He needs to be more calm. But if he doesn’t want to accept my advice, I don’t care.
“The red card was clear for me and if we want to complain we have the opportunity every game to talk about referees, decisions and postponed games.
“If you remember, Arsenal did well to postpone this game in an incredible way when only one player had Covid. I didn’t forget this because it made us a bit angry.
“If we want to complain I can also ask why we have to play again on Sunday at 12 o’clock and Arsenal do not play until Monday night and have one more day’s rest.”
