April 04, (THEWILL) – As the chase for Champions League qualifying heats up in the English Premier League, Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has stated that he is not buying into Tottenham Hotspur manager, Antonio Conte’s “mind games.”
Spurs have moved ahead of Arsenal into fourth place in the Premier League table, but the two teams are level on points and Arteta’s side still has two games in hand, prompting Conte to declare that finishing in the top four would be a “miracle.”
Arteta was questioned about Conte’s remarks and, more specifically, whether he felt pressured by the Italian, but he maintained his typical cool.
Laughing at the line of questioning, the Spaniard answered: “I don’t know. That is a question for [Conte].
“But what we want to do is very clear, and the perception of what people think, is not going to change it. I do it [mind games] more with my players, I think. I do it more with the players, if I have to. To get what I want from them.”
Arteta was then asked to elaborate on what he does with his players, to which he bluntly responded: “No, because they will know what they are doing and that is the whole point.”
While Arsenal has a better chance of picking up points this season, Spurs’ schedule appears to be more favourable on paper.
The rescheduled north London derby between the two clubs appears to be a crucial match in the race for Champions League qualification. Along with Liverpool and ninth-placed Leicester, the Gunners are one of Spurs’ only three remaining opponents in the top half of the standings.
Arsenal still has games against Chelsea, Manchester United, and West Ham to play before the end of the month.ju
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
