Antonio Conte hints Arteta’s project at Arsenal is a blueprint for Spurs to follow

Antonio Conte has pointed to Arsenal as an example of what can be achieved when a manager is given time to implement his vision.

Over the course of his managerial career, Conte has generally delivered trophies quite quickly but has not been one to stick around for too long at various clubs.

However, the Italian has reiterated many times over the 14 months that he spent at Tottenham that this project is more of a long-term one and that patience is needed for the Lilywhites to compete consistently for the biggest trophies (Football.London).

The 53-year-old has now pointed to Mikel Arteta’s work at Arsenal and the fruits that the Gunners are enjoying right now after backing the Spaniard for three and a half years despite the teams’ under-par results over recent years.

The Italian explained that unless Spurs are prepared to spend big to sign experienced winners like Manchester United have, the only other route to success is to build patiently.

Conte told Football.London ahead of the North London derby: “It’s not difficult if you have time and patience. This process at Arsenal started three and a half years ago with Arteta. It’s normal when you work with the same young players and after four years they develop and become stronger. You have two paths you can follow.

“I heard what Ten Hag said about Manchester United. He said it was really important to sign players with experience like Casemiro and Varane because they brought a winning mentality. If you want to accelerate the process it is important to bring experienced players, winners, who know how to win.

“But you have another way, which is you need to have time and patience to develop young players. In our squad we have eight or nine young players, who for sure have a brilliant future, but we have to continue to work, with Gil, Pape Sarr, Skippy, Sessegnon, Spence, Tanganga, Emerson is 23-years-old. We are talking about many young players.

“Arsenal is doing a good job but, don’t forget, I remember the problems they had at the start of last season. They had a lot of criticism. When I talk about time and patience it’s not an alibi, it’s a situation I know. One way is to wait to develop these young players to become stronger players.”

Antonio Conte
(Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Spurs Web Opinion

I think it is important for Spurs fans to listen to Conte’s message and show a bit of patience. While I can understand some of the frustration with the ownership, it is not as if we have not spent any money over recent transfer windows.

I personally believe that these ‘Levy out’ chants achieve nothing more than creating a toxic atmosphere around the club, which only makes it harder for Conte and the players to build any momentum. Fans also have to realise that simply spending big is not a guarantee of success in the transfer market.

Our record signing in Ndombele turned out to be a massive flop while Kulusevski and Bentancur have both turned out to be fantastic success stories despite costing relatively moderate fees. So, it is more important to identify the right sort of players rather than simply throwing £50m-£60m at some big names.

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