Mikel Arteta has extended a gracious message of congratulations to Arsenal's fierce north London rivals Tottenham following their victory in the Europa League on Wednesday night. Spurs ended a 17-year trophy drought by beating Premier League rivals Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao thanks to Brennan Johnson's goal.
Arteta was speaking ahead of his team's final Premier League match of the season. The Gunners are set to travel to Southampton, where they will secure second place, unless a defeat and an unlikely goal swing allows Manchester City to overtake them. Unfortunately, there is disappointing news regarding both Jurrien Timber and William Saliba, who are expected to miss the last game. Timber is currently undergoing a procedure on his ankle.
"Jurrien had surgery on Tuesday morning on his ankle," Arteta explained. "He has been experiencing discomfort for many weeks, and he's going to be out for a while."
However, the press were eagerly awaiting Arteta's reaction to the Gunners' north London rivals lifting the Europa League trophy, ending a lengthy wait for silverware. As expected, the Spaniard was gracious in his response.
"Yeah, congratulate them," he said. "They are champions, and when you achieve that, you have to do a lot of things right. They have faced a lot of difficulties, you have to congratulate. They have done everything within their power to win it."
When asked whether Arsenal or Spurs have had a better season, he quickly dismissed any chance of a comparison: "I don't like to compare with other teams, I focus on my team."
This story first appeared on football.london