Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has refused to get drawn into a war of words with Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte over the race for Champions League football.
Tottenham picked up a huge win on Sunday afternoon, smashing Newcastle United 5-1 with a rampant second-half display.
That means Tottenham have leapfrogged Arsenal into fourth spot in the Premier League table.
Arsenal do have two games in hand on Tottenham though, with one coming up against Crystal Palace tonight.
Add in that the two sides still have to face each other this season and the two North London rivals look set for a fierce battle.
Tottenham may be in strong form, but boss Conte has suggested that Arsenal are the clear favourites to take fourth place.
That sounds like a classic mind game from Conte, attempting to pile the pressure on Arsenal with the finish line in sight.
Ahead of tonight’s game against a tricky Palace side, Arteta has been asked whether he feels Arsenal are being put under pressure by Conte.
Unsurprisingly, Arteta knew better than to get involved in a war of words with the Italian.
As quoted by the Daily Mail, Arteta simply suggested that he’ll leave the subject for Conte to talk about as he isn’t interested.
Arteta added that Arsenal know what their goal is and nothing Conte says is going to change that.
“I don’t know. That is a question for him,” said Arteta. “But what we want to do is clear and the perception of what people think is not going to change it,” he added.
With six wins in seven, Arsenal have put themselves into a great position to finally return to Champions League football.
It would be a shame for Arsenal to come so close and miss out, so Arteta is just trying to keep the Gunners focused on the task at hand.
If both Arsenal and Tottenham keep winning, their meeting in May will become even more important – and you can expect more mind games from Conte in the process.
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