‘We will see’: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta reacts to Antonio Conte’s arrival at Tottenham
Mikel Arteta offers his thoughts on Tottenham Hotspur's decision to bring in Antonio Conte as their new manager
Mikel Arteta has offered his reaction to Tottenham Hotspur’s decision to sack Nuno Espirito Santo and bring in Antonio Conte as his replacement.
The Italian coach was confirmed as the north London club’s new manager last week after Nuno was given his marching orders in the wake of Spurs’ 3-0 loss to Manchester United last weekend.
Conte has signed an initial two-and-a-half year deal with the north London side to keep him in north London until 2023, and Spurs have the option to extend his stay further.
Former Chelsea FC boss led Tottenham to a victory in his first game in charge in midweek when Spurs claimed a 3-2 win over Vitesse in the Europa Conference League.
Arteta oversaw a 3-1 victory for Arsenal when his side took on Nuno’s Tottenham at The Emirates in the Premier League back in September – and the Spaniard has admitted he is intrigued to see how Conte performs for the club’s derby rivals.
Asked for his reaction to Conte’s appointment, Arteta told a news conference last week: “Well, first of all I would like to send a message to Nuno and his coaching staff, because it is always tough to see a colleague leave the job and Nuno has done extremely well in this country and has proven to be a top, top manager.
“They made a decision to bring in somebody else, we know that he has a really successful past in the last two jobs and we will see how he does here.”
Asked whether it will be harder to get top four now Conte has arrived, Arteta replied: “I think it will be for any team, to be fighting for the top positions.
“There are so many games to go, a lot will happen. You see results and performances, and how games vary from one half to another, with moments in the game, that tells you the quality that is here in terms of players and managers.”
Meanwhile, speaking before his first Premier League game in charge of Spurs, Conte admitted that his team have plenty of room for improvement in all departments.
Conte said: “We need to work a lot to try to improve this team in many aspects, not only tactically but also physically and we need a bit of time to do this,” he said.
“I have seen in this few days that we need to work a lot to improve every single player, not just one or two or three.
“This squad needs to work to improve its physical condition, to have more order on the pitch and not be so emotional during games, improve the capacity to suffer.”
The Lilywhites will return to Premier League action after the international break when they take on Leeds United at home on 21 November.
