Tottenham expert fumes amid claims Antonio Conte ‘threw in the towel’
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte may not have “thrown in the towel” against Arsenal as his side fell to a first defeat of the season.
That is according to Spurs insider John Wenham, who regularly breaks news about the club on his Lilywhite Rose social media channels.
Tottenham lost 3-1 to Arsenal on Saturday (1 October) as their unbeaten Premier League record came to an end.
In the second half, shortly after Arsenal’s third, Conte made four substitutions at once as Davinson Sanchez, Yves Bissouma, Ryan Sessegnon and Matt Doherty replaced Clement Lenglet, Ivan Perisic Heung-Min Son and Richarlison.
“The most interesting talking point is the substitutions,” Wenham told Football Insider correspondent Ben Wild.
“I put a tweet out asking about it because I completely see both sides points. one side being that 70 minutes had gone with 10 men, are you going to get anything out of the game or do you let Arsenal potentially hammer you five or six-one?
“Son and Richarlison came off with three midfielders and a defender coming on. One side is damage limitation and Conte was vindicated if that’s what he was doing.
“There is also the side of resting players because we have Frankfurt on Tuesday and the game was effectively lost at that point.
“The other side of the argument is that is 3-1, I get that. But we have been to The Emirates before with 90 minutes on the clock two goals down and we have not lost the game.
“It’s a North London derby, it’s the game we care most about. One goal would have caused Arsenal to panic. I see the people saying that we threw in the towel.
“We took off two of our best players and admitted defeat after 70 minutes yesterday. Our position was made very difficult by Emerson Royal.”
In other news, Tottenham idol issues emphatic Antonio Conte verdict after ‘incredible’ update via Sky.