Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has given his take on Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur getting knocked out of the Europa League last night, as quoted in Football.London.
Both Arsenal and Tottenham were in action in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Spurs suffered a 3-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb away from home in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie.
Tottenham had won the first leg 2-0 and were expected to ease through to the quarter-finals.
However, it was Dinamo who were the team celebrating in the end, and Spurs will now have to concentrate on finishing in the Premier League top four and winning the EFL Cup.
Arsenal were also in action on Thursday evening. Although the Gunners lost the second leg 1-0 to Olympiacos, they have progressed over two legs.
Arteta told Football.London when asked about Tottenham’s exit from the Europa League: “It shows as well the level of the opposition. People takes for granted that you play against any opponent and you’re going to be through because the name of the club that it represents. It’s not like that. Every team in Europe is really difficult to beat.”
Arsenal will be pleased
Arsenal and Tottenham are bitter North London rivals, and one suspects that deep inside Arteta will be happy.
Spurs would have been a hard team for the Gunners if they had met them in the European competition.
The defeat also increases pressure on Tottenham to finish in the top four of the Premier League table this season, as that is now the only way they can secure a place in the Champions League in 2021-22.
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