Antonio Conte called on Mikel Arteta to remember the postponed clash between Tottenham and Arsenal, after the Gunners' manager fumed at the Premier League schedule.
Arteta vented his frustration after a 2-0 loss to Liverpool on Wednesday, sarcastically thanking the league for their scheduling, which sees Arsenal visit Aston Villa in Saturday's early kick-off.
Arsenal also face Chelsea and Manchester United in quick succession next month, on April 20 and 23, and the Spaniard doubled down on his comments ahead of the clash with Villa.
Arteta suggested "we've been the only team that has been scheduled like that", citing the short turnaround time as a problem for players' welfare heading into the crunch period of the season.
Spurs head coach Conte was quick to remind his north London rival of the situation in January that left Tottenham "extremely surprised" following the postponement of the derby with Arsenal, who were granted a rearrangement due to COVID-19, injuries and the Africa Cup of Nations leaving them with a "depleted squad".
When asked about Arteta's recent comments, Conte told Friday's pre-match news conference: "Arteta should remember the game postponed, Tottenham-Arsenal.
"In general, I think my answer is enough. If someone wants to think about fair or unfair. We postponed the game, Tottenham-Arsenal. I don't forget this. And it's not right to speak about fair or unfair."
Spurs host fellow top-four chasers West Ham on Sunday, currently sitting three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, who have played one game fewer.
While Conte believes the meeting with David Moyes' side may be too soon for Oliver Skipp, the Italian hopes to have the midfielder back after the international break.
"About Skippy, I hope to have him after the international break," Conte said. "His pain is getting better and better.
"About Ryan [Sessegnon], we're waiting for weeks to have another scan and then if everything is OK he'll restart training sessions with us."
The former Inter and Chelsea coach was also keen to praise Cristian Romero, who he feels will be a key player with the right guidance.
"Cristian is a player who has to be focused in every moment of a game," he added. "If he's good, he's focused from the start, from the first to last second of the game and he's a really important player for us.
"He has a bit to improve in this situation, to be focused on every moment of the game. Sometimes he gets a yellow card he can avoid. He has to improve in this aspect, to be focused from the start to the end.
"Sometimes you can't explain this in a good manner - you have to shout! But he's a good guy and he understands that what I do is always best for the team and himself.
"He has quality to be a great defender so it's important to find the right way to improve the player."
Aldershot move into play-off places with victory at 10-man Gateshead
Kwame Thomas headed Aldershot into the National League play-off places in a 1-0 win away to a Gateshead side who played almost half the match with a defender deputising in goal.
Gateshead had goalkeeper Nathan Harness sent off in the 47th minute for bringing down James Daly outside the box and, with no stopper on the bench, Louis Storey went between the posts for the rest of the night.
Storey made a good save to keep out Cian Harries’ free-kick in the 51st minute, but could do nothing as the visitors took the lead 10 minutes later.
Thomas got on the end of a looping cross from Josh Barrett to head in, and it proved enough for a win that puts them one point above FC Halifax, who host Oldham on Thursday.
Xabi Alonso: Bundesliga celebrations will not affect Leverkusen against West Ham
Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso had bad news for David Moyes after insisting there are no lingering hangovers from their historic Bundesliga title celebrations.
Leverkusen clinched the first title in the club’s history when they beat Werder Bremen 5-0 on Sunday.
But their attention is now focused on defending a 2-0 lead in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final at West Ham.
Hammers boss Moyes admitted he hoped the Leverkusen players might have indulged in a few too many steins of German beer.
But Alonso revealed: “A few of them, probably. But not too many. We had control.
“For sure it was a moment to enjoy it. On Sunday we knew we had a chance so we took one day, in case of winning, to enjoy it.
“But from Tuesday our mind has been focused on West Ham. Now it’s the Europa League and we have a great chance to make a great season even better.
“The commitment, the way we’ve trained, give me reasons to believe we will play well tomorrow.
“We have big challenges ahead. West Ham have good players, they have recent experience of beating Freiburg. We need to put in our best performance.
“I don’t have any feeling that our mentality will be any different from the one that has given us this chance to reach the quarter-final.”
Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka managed to achieve what Harry Kane could not do by winning the title in his first season in Germany.
Kane’s switch from Tottenham to Bayern Munich was expected to end in Bundesliga glory but his new side have been left trailing in Leverkusen’s wake.
“Before you transfer to another country you speak with the club and the coach about the plan and the philosophy,” said Xhaka.
“But of course how we are playing is unbelievable, more than people were thinking before the season. I’m proud to be a part of this team.”
Jarrod Bowen likely to be fit for West Ham’s Europa League clash with Leverkusen
Jarrod Bowen looks set to be fit for West Ham’s bid for an unlikely Europa League comeback against new Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
The Hammers’ 19-goal top scorer missed the 2-0 quarter-final first-leg defeat in Germany, and Sunday’s Premier League loss at home to Fulham, with a hip injury.
But Bowen took part in training at West Ham’s Rush Green HQ on Wednesday morning and hopes are high that he will be available against Leverkusen.
Manager David Moyes said: “It was great to see Jarrod out there.
“We’re not sure yet. I would never risk a player if I thought they were injured but you always want your best players back in, your goalscorers as well, and Jarrod has been that this season.”
The news is a major boost to the Hammers as they attempt to inflict a first defeat of the season on Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen.
But they will be without key Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta through suspension after he was booked in Germany.
“Most people know exactly what Jarrod has done for us over the season and others. It would give us and the crowd a real lift,” Moyes said.
“We’ve lost Lucas through suspension, and had Jarrod out through injury. We have to find ways of making magic happen.”
Left-back Emerson Palmieiri is also suspended while centre-half Konstantinos Mavropanos is a doubt.
Leverkusen secured a first league title in their history when they beat Werder Bremen 5-0 on Sunday, and Moyes hopes the celebrations went on long into the night – and maybe spilled into the start of the week.
“Rightly so, why would you not celebrate?” he said. “To be the champions, you should celebrate, you should enjoy it because the moments go very quickly.
“I hope they’ve been downing those big giant glasses of beer they get in Germany!”
Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who turns 39 on Thursday, hopes West Ham can lean on their experience of making unlikely comebacks.
Fabianski was in the Hammers team who were 3-0 down at Tottenham with 10 minutes to go in 2020, and hit back to draw 3-3.
“I think the confidence that we can take is from the experiences in recent years, games where we have been down and come back,” the former Poland international said.
“The Spurs game is one of the best examples, being 3-0 down and to score three in 10-15 minutes.
“We’ve experienced some great moments as a team in recent history and that will help us prepare mentally for (Thursday’s) game.”
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