Conte has no sympathy for Arteta over fixture congestion

LONDON : Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte offered an abrupt response to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta's gripes about the fixtures scheduling on Friday, with sympathy in short supply.

Arteta, whose side are battling Tottenham for fourth spot in the Premier League, has complained about his side being forced to play Aston Villa on Saturday, three days after an intense 2-0 defeat at home by Liverpool.

Arteta has also expressed his concern that the yet-to-be-arranged clash away at Tottenham could further crowd the schedule, after it was called off in January with Arsenal saying they had a shortage of players due to injuries, COVID-19 and players away on international duty.

Asked about Arteta's comments, Conte, who was critical of the decision to call off the Arsenal game when they only had one confirmed COVID-19 case, said: "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. (It was) postponed the game, Tottenham-Arsenal. I don't forget this. And it's not right to speak about fair or unfair."

Conte's Tottenham side have won four of their last six games and have climbed to seventh place, level on points and with a game in hand of London rivals West Ham United who they face on Sunday at home.

They are also two points behind fifth-placed Manchester United, with a game in hand, and three behind fourth-placed Arsenal who have played one game fewer.

Victory over West Ham on Sunday would be a huge boost for Tottenham's top-four hopes.

West Ham themselves will be feeling the strain after beating Sevilla after extra time on Thursday to reach the Europa League quarter-finals, but Conte was not reading much into that.

"I can answer you after