Arteta is a rookie and should complain less, says Conte

Antonio Conte launched a scathing attack on Mikel Arteta for the Arsenal manager’s suggestion, after his side’s north London derby defeat, that the officials’ decisions had gone against them – especially in the dismissal of defender Rob Holding.

The Tottenham Hotspur manager said that his counterpart should “complain less” given that he had just “started in the job”.

Arteta protested in his postmatch interviews that he could not offer his opinion on referee Paul Tierney because he would risk a ban. “If I say what I think I am suspended six months. I am allowed to give my interpretation of what I thought, but I do not like to lie.

“I am so proud of my players. Ask the referee to come here and explain his decisions. Such a beautiful game was destroyed here.”

Conte said that he had heard Arteta “complain a lot”. He said the Spaniard, who was appointed by Arsenal in December 2019, was a “really good coach” but that all managers had ground for grievance.

“He [Arteta] has to be calm and continue to work. Complaining a lot is not good. He has just started in the job. I listen to him complain a lot. I think he has to focus more on his team and not to complain.”

Conte said Holding’s dismissal, for two yellow cards, both for fouls on Son Heung-min, “was clear”. “Don’t forget that against Liverpool I said nothing about what happened with Fabinho,” he said, referring to Spurs’ complaints at Anfield about the number of fouls committed by the Brazilian. “If we want to complain we have the possibility every

game to speak about decisions. Or about the postponed game.”

That was a reference to the postponement of last night’s fixture in January when Arsenal successfully applied to the Premier League under Covid rules. “Arsenal cancelled a game in an incredible way when they didn’t have a player with Covid,” Conte said. “If we want to complain we have a lot of possibilities. Why do I have to play on Sunday

at 12pm [against Burnley] and Arsenal play on Monday evening [against Newcastle]? They had one day more rest than us this week.”

He praised his players’ reaction in such a high-pressure game. “We had only one result: to win. Not only because it is a derby and we know how important it is to our fans… to win this game gave us the possibility to stay in the race to take a place in the Champions League.”