Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte gives his thoughts on experiencing North London derby for the first time
Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has weighed in on experiencing the North London derby for the first time in his managerial career. The Premier League game will be hosted by his side later today as they look to reduce the point gap with their bitter rivals.
Arsenal were the victors in the reverse fixture at Emirates Stadium as they beat Tottenham 3-1 on the day. Nuno Espirito Santo was the manager back then, but Spurs will be hoping to prevent their rivals from getting the league double on them this season with Conte in their ranks. The last time the Gunners won both matches was back in the 2013-14 campaign, which they would look to end later today.
Speaking in an interview with Spurs TV (h/t Tottenham Hotspur official website), Conte has expressed that he understands how important the derby is for the supporters. He admitted how the current league table adds more value to this clash. The boss mentioned that he wants to reward the fans with a win as they deserve a great end to this term.
“It’s my first north London derby and I know very well what this game means for this Club for our fans. We have to know very well what it also means for the table for us at this moment. I want to try to give satisfaction to our fans, they deserve this type of satisfaction in a tough game, a derby against Arsenal.”
Spurs or Arsenal to win?
The Italian manager also addressed how both teams are on the rise at this moment, which makes up for a crucial match. He added how the pursuit to qualify for the Champions League gives both sides more incentive to get all three points in the derby.
“It’s a massive game. We are talking about a game with two important teams, Tottenham and Arsenal. Arsenal, they have the same idea, for sure, to try to get points and take a place in the Champions League, and they are doing very well.”
It is good to see that the 52-year-old coach is eager to reward us with the best possible result later today. We have gone through a rough phase in the first half of the season, but Conte has come in and changed that with the improvements he made with this team.
Beating Mikel Arteta’s side would be a cherry on the top since they have enjoyed a head start over us in terms of building their current project. An impressive victory today would showcase how we have closed that gap even though several obstacles have caused us issues in our progress.
Form and other factors usually go out the window when both teams face off against each other in the NLD. That certainly makes up for an interesting clash between both sides later today, but we hope to see a positive outcome at the end of the night.
Champions League football would not have been in our mind when Conte initially joined us back in November. However, he has raised our expectations with the improvements that have been made since his appointment. We would hope that Conte and the players can make a statement with three points in this fixture.
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Even if a top-four finish would elude us after this campaign, we still can use the momentum we gain from a win in this derby to build for a better future. Enjoying a mental boost of this sort would do us wonders for a fresh approach in the next season.
