Antonio Conte pulls £15.8m job on Mikel Arteta to frustrate Arsenal's transfer plans

It was expected that Antonio Conte would present Arsenal with a serious challenge for the top four places after becoming Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach. However, few predicted him having a direct negative impact on The Gunner’s January transfer window.

Yet this is exactly what has happened to Arsenal with the Spurs boss looking to add reinforcements to his team after several comments regarding concerns about the overall quality of the group he inherited from Nuno Espirito Santo.

Antonio Conte has spoken out numerous times but most damning was arguably the first comments made less than a month after taking over the position in November.

“After three weeks I am starting to understand the situation – it is not simple,” Conte said.

“At this moment the level at Tottenham is not so high. I am happy to stay here, but we have to work a lot to improve the quality of the squad.

“We are Tottenham, but there is an important gap with the top teams, but I am not scared.”

Therefore, when entering the January transfer period, Spurs were expected to make significant signings, however, their primary targets Adama Traore and Luis Diaz quickly fell away. The Spaniard returned instead to Barcelona whilst Diaz is on the cusp of joining Liverpool.

In their wake, Spurs have moved for Juventus pair Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur. The latter is significant for Arsenal with Aston Villa reportedly chasing the Uruguayan for some time. However, Spurs are closing on an approximate €19 million (£15.8m) deal plus add-ons for Bentancur.

The Gunners had been reportedly interested in taking Douglas Luiz from the Birmingham-based side but the likelihood of a move has plummeted due to Bentancur’s possible Tottenham arrival. The Athletic claimed that