Antonio Conte has hit back at Arsene Wenger after the Arsenal boss aimed a dig at Chelsea over the size of their squad.
The Blues have endured a frustrating transfer window and a shortage of arrivals, along with the club loaning out a host of players, has led some to question the strength of Conte’s squad.
Frank Lampard highlighted the difference between Chelsea and Arsenal’s squad last weekend during the Community Shield clash – while Chelsea listed 24 players on the matchday programme Arsenal had 41.
When asked about the difference, Wenger said on Thursday: ‘I have sympathy for him. But do I feel sorry for Chelsea as they don’t have enough problems? Then no.
‘Maybe he has the opposite problem [to me]. But if you look at the number of players on loan, they can call a few back.’
But responding to Wenger’s comments, Conte said at Friday’s pre-match press conference: ‘My message is that I’m not looking for sympathy from any coaches for this situation.
‘That’s my message. The situation is clear, I’m not looking for sympathy from other coaches.
‘If the club decides to loan out players for their development it is because they’re not ready to play for Chelsea.’
Chelsea cruised to the title last season, eventually finishing seven points clear of rivals Tottenham, but Conte insists six teams are capable of winning the league this time around.
Chelsea 2017/18 Fixtures
Newcastle (A) - Sun May 13
Asked who he sees as favourite to lift the title come May, Conte replied: ‘At the start of the season it is simple to tell that in this league probably there are six top teams who should fight for the title.
‘They you know very well there are surprises and in the last two years you see that two teams won the league and it was a great surprise.
‘I think that the most important thing for us is to try and do our best and to put in our work 120% every day – I think this is the most important thing for us.’
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