Mikel Arteta congratulates Tottenham Hotspur on Europa League title win

BILBAO: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta congratulated North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for their 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final here at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao on Wednesday.

Arsenal will end the season without any trophies, finishing second in the Premier League behind champions Liverpool.

Meanwhile, despite a poor domestic campaign that saw them languish in 17th place, Spurs have managed to finish on a high by clinching a European trophy.

Meanwhile, Arteta congratulated the winners and praised their efforts, noting that they had faced many obstacles and difficulties throughout the season but remained strong, ultimately ending up with a 'beautiful moment'.

"They are [Europa League] champions and when you get to that you have to do a lot of things right. I think they're going through a season with a lot of obstacles and difficulties. And they have, at the end... A beautiful moment," Arteta said.

During the news conference on Thursday, he was asked to compare Tottenham's season with Arsenal's, but the Spanish manager chose not to compare the two teams.

"I don't like to compare with other teams. I need to analyse my team, that's my job," Arteta said.

He further expressed Arsenal's plans to accumulate as many points as possible and to secure the best defensive record.

"We want to have as many points as possible. We still want to achieve the best defensive record ... Finish the season on a high," he concluded.