Antonio Conte appears to have aimed a subtle dig at Arsenal and Mikel Arteta following the Gunners' 3-0 defeat to Brighton on Sunday afternoon.
Second-half goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan earned the Seagulls a deserved victory at the Emirates Stadium to all but end any Premier League title hopes for the north Londoners. Manchester City now need just one more win from their final three games to defend their crown.
"At the moment it’s just frustration," Arteta said after the defeat. "The feeling that we gave the game away in the second half.
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"We fought really hard to be in the position that we are in and today we were in a critical moment to keeping hoping and digging for that dream. When you have to play in these moments you cannot do what we did in the second half."
Conte, who left Tottenham by mutual agreement in March following a rollercoaster 16-month reign, appears to be enjoying the Gunners' title collapse as he watches on from afar. That's if his social media activity is anything to go by anyway.
The Italian liked a CBS Sports Golazo Instagram post on Sunday evening which showed a picture of Arteta as well as Arsenal's results over the past seven matches. With the Gunners winning just two of those seven games, the post caption read: "Arsenal failed to show up when it mattered."
Arteta and Conte have not always seen eye to eye and the Italian's latest subtle dig perhaps shows what the two coaches think of each other. After Tottenham's 3-0 victory over the Gunners back in May 2022, a result that helped the Lilywhites finish above their local rivals and pip them to a top-four finish and Champions League qualification, Arteta voiced his concerns on the officiating during the match.
Conte took exception to this and said: "Arteta is a really good coach but he has just started this job and he has to be more focused on his team and not to keep complaining.
"In six months here [at Spurs], I have listened to him complaining a lot. He needs to be more calm. But if he doesn’t want to accept my advice, I don’t care."
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