Ange Postecoglou hits back at Arsene Wenger with ‘crazy’ Tottenham claim
Ange Postecoglou has now weighed in on Arsene Wenger’s claim that Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester United do not deserve a UEFA Champions League place if they lift the Europa League trophy.
The words, “I always win things in my second season”, have the potential to be one of the coldest lines in modern football history.
However, for that to happen, Ange Postecoglou would have to do his talking on the pitch. As it stands, Tottenham Hotspur are close to European glory.
But, the Lilywhites have to make their two-goal advantage against Bodo/Glimt count, before a place in the Europa League final can be theirs.
Indeed, an all-English final is also on the cards, as Manchester United put themselves in the driving seat in their own semi-final tie after beating Athletic Bilbao 3-0 at San Mames.
Given the strong first-leg results in their respective semi-finals, the chances of either Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur going on to win the Europa League are high, and should that happen, six English sides could end up competing in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Ange Postecoglou responds to Arsene Wenger’s Champions League claims
Arsene Wenger is not best pleased with this. The former Arsenal manager does not want Tottenham to qualify for the Champions League just by winning the Europa League, noting that he also does not want six Premier League sides in next season’s Champions League.
While the debate continues, Ange Postecoglou has now weighed in on the matter. When asked about Wenger’s comments, the Tottenham manager stated that it is only a big deal because Tottenham are in the mix.
He told football.london: “Well, I mean that’s a debate that’s been raging for years, like at least the last eight days. I’ve never heard that before, so.. I’ve said it before, mate, Spurs does crazy things to people. It does, it does.
“You put that club into any sentence or any issue, and invariably they all come out and try and diminish as much as they can.
“Why wasn’t there an issue before and it’s an issue now? What’s the difference? I don’t understand what the difference is.
“Last year, fifth didn’t get you into the Champions League, this year it does. What does that mean? There are competition rules and the rules say that the winner goes into [the Champions League] and it’s not the first year, and there isn’t an asterisk against it that you have to do something else as well. But it’s Spurs, mate, they love it. They love it. Oh, they love it, you love it, don’t you?”
Asked whether it could be a case of an ex-Arsenal manager showing bias against Tottenham, Postecoglou added: “Well, you know, I don’t want to go down that road because I’ve got a great respect for Arsene. He’s one of the legends of the game, but it does crazy things to people, mate, I love it. I love it, bring it on. It’s going to upset people, so that makes me happy.”
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario hits back at Wenger’s opinion
Tottenham’s shot stopper, Guglielmo Vicario, has also weighed in on the debate, stating that he does not agree with Wenger’s opinion and that Tottenham are only playing by the rules.
Of course, Wenger’s Arsenal are on the cusp of heading out of the Champions League after his former side suffered a 1-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their UCL semi-final tie at the Emirates Stadium.
Should Arsenal be knocked out and Tottenham win the Europa League, then both sides are set to have the same rewards despite Spurs finishing in the Premier League’s bottom half.
Maybe that is what is hurting Wenger, but let us not forget, these rules have been in place for a long time, so Tottenham are simply just playing by the rules, as Vicario stated.
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