Tottenham boss Antonio Conte defends his style of play amid criticism after defeat to Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte has defended his style of play amid criticism after the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal last Saturday.
Spurs were outplayed in almost every department and appeared to be playing very defensive football in the last 15 minutes or so. This led to criticism from all corners, but now the Italian has defended his approach.
In an interview published in Sky Sports, the Tottenham boss reminded everyone of his side’s 3-0 win last season and said he can ‘teach football to many people.’
“We made really bad mistakes for the last passes because we had the opportunity to go one-to-one but every team has to think and understand the way to play different games. Then I repeat last season we won 3-0 and in the same way then when you lose you have to explain and when you win the opponent has to explain. I won in England and then I won in my past and I think I can teach football to many people.”
The hosts were better from the start and took an early lead from a Thomas Partey goal. Harry Kane converted his penalty in the first half to equal the game, but the second half got worse.
A mistake from Hugo Lloris allowed the Gooners to restore their lead, a few minutes after the second half started. Spurs were seen to sit back and play long-balls to counter their opponents. This approach failed and the visitors looked like they were just playing to survive.
Matters worsened when Emerson Royal was shown a red card for a very silly challenge in the 62nd minute. It was surprising that the Brazilian had started instead of Djed Spence. The 22-year-old joined this summer but is yet to start a game for Conte.
Conte is a very experienced and successful coach. But the way his side played after conceding three goals is not suitable either for him or the club. Spurs simply lacked that attacking mindset, despite having numerous options both on the pitch and on the bench.
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Spurs will travel to face Eintracht Frankfurt later today (October 4) for their Champions League group-stage game. Fans will hope that the Italian coach changes his approach for this game and plays more attacking football.
