Wenger not convinced by what Tottenham have shown this season (Picture: beINSport)
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has given his damming verdict of Tottenham, insisting the club do not have enough quality despite investing ‘a lot of money’.
Tottenham fell to a 1-0 defeat to AC Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash on Tuesday night with Brahim Diaz’s goal the difference on the night.
While they have the chance to turn things around in the second leg on 8 March, it was their second defeat in four days after a heavy 4-1 defeat to Leicester City on Saturday.
Spurs currently sit in fifth place in the Premier League table, two points adrift of fourth place Newcastle United and seven behind third place Manchester United.
And while hailing Antonio Conte’s commitment to the cause in north London, Wenger believes Arsenal’s arch-rivals are severely lacking in key areas despite some big additions in recent transfer windows.
‘I don’t question the commitment of Conte because he has been in England, he has gone to Italy and come back to England. He is professional and he is committed,’ Wenger told beIN Sport.
‘Tottenham for me, is a team that is not convincing, they have not enough top quality players.
‘They have invested a lot of money but Tottenham in the Premier League has lost eight games in 23. They have just come out of a defeat to Leicester, 4-1, when Leicester is not a team who are doing especially well.
‘Overall I believe this team lacks pace, they with a mono-rhythm and they do not change pace enough and cannot compete physically pace-wise at the top level at the moment.
‘But the Premier League is still the premier league and they can compete against top teams in Europe.’
While Spurs fell to a narrow defeat in Italy, Conte is hopeful over his side’s chances of turning the tie around back in north London.
‘For qualification you have to play two games,’ the Tottenham boss said.
‘It is the first game away and the atmosphere was fantastic. I know the San Siro and I know the difficulty to play with this atmosphere. In the second game we have to play at our stadium and our fans will create the atmosphere to help us overcome the Milan obstacle.’
MORE : Brahim Diaz goal gives Milan first leg victory over Tottenham in Champions League tie
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Wenger praised Antonio Conte but sees big problems at Spurs.
