Mourinho replies Arteta over Europa League switch ahead of derby
Jose Mourinho has dismissed Mikel Arteta’s claims that Tottenham have been handed an advantage over Arsenal after Uefa swapped their Europa League tie ahead of Sunday’s north London derby.
Both Spurs and Arsenal were drawn away for the first legs of their Europa League last-16 ties this week.
But two clubs from the same city cannot play on the same day and Arteta is unhappy that Uefa have switched Tottenham’s ties so they will now host Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday, while Arsenal still have a near-3,000-mile round trip to Athens to play Greek side Olympiacos.
Arteta believes that has given Spurs the edge ahead of Sunday’s derby at Emirates Stadium.
But Mourinho has hit back at the Arsenal manager.
Mourinho said: “Well on December 6th we played against Arsenal in our stadium. On December 3rd Arsenal played at home against Rapid Vienna.
“At the same time we were playing in the ice in Linz against LASK Linz. We landed in London 3am. Was that an advantage to Arsenal?”
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Arsenal, as FA Cup holders, were technically prioritised by Uefa, meaning their tie was the one to remain unchanged.
Arteta said last week: “We want to have two teams playing in equal conditions. We can raise our voices – and we should – but the decision has been made and that’s it.”