MY ACCOUNT
Antonio Conte has pointed to Arsenal’s improvement under Mikel Arteta as proof that “time and patience” is needed to succeed in the Premier League.
Arsenal sit top of the table after winning six of their first seven games this season.
Tottenham boss Conte takes his team to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday for the north London derby, sitting just two places and one point behind the Gunners after their own impressive start to the campaign.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Conte – who has previously spoken about needing time to get Spurs up to the level of other top clubs in England – was keen to shine a light on the patience shown by their rivals.
“I think the club backed Arteta in these years, and you are seeing that when you trust in a person, and Arsenal showed also in a tough period now with Arteta to back him in every moment,” he said. “And now they are having good results.
“I think they’re doing a good job. But in my opinion, it’s always very, very important to go together with the manager and with the club.
“If you want to build something important, you have to go together to have a good relationship and I think the manager in every decision that is going to [be made] has to have a good explanation to the club why I want this [player] and not this player.
“It’s right for the manager to show the vision that you have and then the club has to agree with them. I think to have a good relationship, a great link between the manager and the club, for sure you [will] have a much better future than the present.”
Conte has been repeatedly questioned about his future at Spurs, especially with rumours of a return to Juventus should the Italian giants part with Massimiliano Allegri.
However, the 53-year-old wants to focus on his job in London, reiterating the need for patience.
“I know that we need to have time and a bit of patience to try to build a path to become seriously competitive with [Manchester] City, Liverpool, Chelsea, [Manchester] United and Arsenal,” he added.
“For me, it’s important to realise this and to understand that we need time and patience. I enjoy working with this club and it is very important to have a good relationship with the owner, with Fabio [Paratici], to stay in the same line, the same vision.
“Then I know very well that maybe in other clubs you have the possibility to have a path that’s not so long.”
Only Manchester United, Chelsea and West Ham spent more than Tottenham’s £152.91million in the recent transfer window in the Premier League, but Conte maintains the club have to do things differently to their rivals when it comes to improving their squad.
“I hear sometimes that people [praise you for] two or three good results, but it’s important to be honest, to know what the reality [is] and to be ready to fight, to be ready to work to try to improve the situation,” he said.
“You know very well that you need time and patience to improve the squad slowly. And you have to know that other clubs can go into the transfer market and put [in] a lot of money and you have to do things with common sense and I think maybe it’s the right way for a club like Tottenham.”
