Tottenham boss Conte says Arteta 'complains a lot' and tells him to focus on Arsenal

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has told Mikel Arteta to stop complaining and focus on his team after the Arsenal manager appeared to blame referee Paul Tierney for Wednesday's heavy North London defeat.

Fifth-placed Spurs closed the gap on their bitter rivals to one point with a comfortable 3-0 win to keep alive hopes of stealing the final Champions League berth.

A Harry Kane double and a Son Heung-min strike did the damage while Arsenal's miserable visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was compounded by Rob Holding's sending off.

Holding’s red card was sandwiched between Kane’s goals as the Arsenal defender came out second-best in a tussle with Son.

Speaking after the game, Arteta would not be drawn on his thoughts on the match official, saying: ”I cannot say what I think or I will be suspended.”

He would not add to his opinion but, when asked about Arteta’s take on the decisions from the officials, Conte did not hold back.

“He complains a lot,” the Italian said of Arteta. “He has to focus more on his team. He has to focus more on his work. He has to continue to work because he’s a very good [coach]. To hear someone complain all the time is not so good.

“At Liverpool [on Saturday] do you hear me complain about Fabinho and all the fouls? No. He can take my advice if he wants, but if not I don’t care.

“I listen and he complains a lot. I think that he has to be more focussed on his team and not to complain because he has just started his work. He has to be calm and try to continue to work. To listen to a coach complain a lot of the time is not good.”

TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris - 7: Needed a few attempts to gather a cross after 25 minutes but not called into action again until he turned Nketiah shot over bar just before