Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Defeat to Gunners and missing out on top four could send coveted Conte running for the exit door
WHEN Gary Neville cited Tottenham’s draw at Anfield as justification for Manchester United not hiring Antonio Conte it was tough to know whether to laugh or squirm.
It may not have been to Jurgen Klopp’s liking, but the Italian had just staged a masterclass in how to stop an attacking juggernaut. And he could easily have left Merseyside with all three points.
In his six months at Spurs, Conte has faced Liverpool and Manchester City three times, winning once and drawing twice.
Contrast that with United, who were battered in all four league games this season against the country’s top two, with an aggregate score of 1-15. That would not have been a remote possibility under Conte.
Tonight he leads Spurs into a north London derby which is being billed as the most important in a generation.
The bitter rivals are in a dogfight for a ticket to the Champions League which could go a long way to determining the future of two huge clubs who believed a year ago, when the Super
League was being touted, that their rightful place was in the European elite. Throw in the righteous anger that Tottenham felt when the original fixture was postponed on Covid grounds, when only one Arsenal player had tested positive, and Conte won’t need to work motivational wonders with his players.
Neither will he with his fans, who will turn the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into a bearpit as they know how vital a victory this could be.
Win and they move a point behind Arsenal. Win their two relatively easy remaining games (home to injury-hit Burnley and away to relegated Norwich) and hope that Arsenal drop points at Newcastle or home to Everton, and they will be dreaming again of reliving glorious European nights.
Defeat though could have dismal consequences. Not merely because it would mark the first St Totteringham’s Day for six years (when they are condemned to finishing below Arsenal) but it could hasten an already restless
Conte to the exit door. After the
January transfer window he lamented the lack of backing from chairman Daniel Levy. Missing out on the Champions League would severely limit the cash available to rebuild this squad and make it more likely that he would move on if a big club with deeper pockets came calling.
Were Arsenal to miss out on a place at Europe’s top table it would be painful but not as harmful. They haven’t finished in the top four since 2016.
Most fans would have taken fifth and the Europa League back in August. Those with patience will realise there is progress being made under Mikel Arteta (far left). His youthful team are ahead of expectations in the much-needed, postwenger era rebuild.
The Spaniard bought well last summer, bringing in players the team required, rather than felt they should be going for, and there is no reason why that would not be repeated this summer.
The squad has flair as well as steel and more importantly it finally feels liberated from underachieving, overpaid egos. It is doubtful a bigger club would come in for Arteta any time soon, but the fact that he has just signed a new contract proves the board have faith in him and he believes his vision is being backed.
The same cannot be said about Conte and everyone at Spurs knows it.
This is their biggest game since the Champions League final in 2019. They can’t afford to lose it. Expect fireworks.