Mikel Arteta has been accused of insulting the family of Porto manager, Sergio Conceicao, during a fractious match at the Emirates Stadium, as Arsenal reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2010 with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory.
Conceicao appeared to clash with Arteta at the end of the match, and was seen jabbing his finger in the Arsenal manager’s face. In his press conference a few minutes later, he claimed that Arteta had insulted him in Spanish during the game.
Arteta had earlier declined to comment about the argument with the Porto manager, instead choosing to hail “another big step” and a “magic” night for his Arsenal side. But it’s understood he strongly denied the accusation after being informed of Conceicao’s claim.
Speaking after defeat, Conceicao said, “The result was unjust. The team (Porto) deserved to go through. What Arteta said, towards the bench in Spanish, he insulted my family. He should focus on training his team.”
Conceicao has a history of clashing with Premier League managers. In 2020, after a match against Manchester City, he accused Pep Guardiola of “speaking about our country using ugly words” and added, “Guardiola’s attitude was extremely unpleasant.”
Conceicao also made a similar complaint against Thomas Tuchel following Porto’s Champions League quarter-final defeat by Chelsea in April 2021.
“I was insulted by this gentleman (Tuchel) who is next door. I didn’t quite understand. I heard some insults, but it’s over… it’s not pretty and my irritation in the end had to do with it. I didn’t even address it.”
David Raya, the Arsenal goalkeeper, was the hero as Arteta’s side triumphed in only the second ever shoot-out to take place at the Emirates Stadium. Raya’s two saves came after Leandro Trossard had struck for Arsenal in the first half.
“A magic night,” said Arteta. “It is a huge experience for us. David had some difficult moments to start but he stood up, he has an incredible personality and at the end he got rewarded.”
The Arsenal manager added, “For them (his players) to do it when the club has not done it for 14 years that tells you the difficulty. They are willing to sacrifice anything to win. When you play that way you are going to be rewarded.
“I am so happy. It has been 14 years, which is a long time for a club like Arsenal. We had to really dig in and find the magic moment that we found at the end.
“You are very nervous (watching a penalty shoot-out), hoping for the best but you know it’s a bit of a lottery. We had prepared the day before so credit to the goalkeeping coaches and everyone that has contributed.
“It’s really difficult to play against Porto, they are really competitive. We didn’t get many moments where we could control the game, they’re a really good side.”
Arteta also revealed that some of the players who scored in the shoot-out had actually missed from the spot in training the day before.
Bukayo Saka, the England winger, was among those who converted. “I am buzzing,” he said. “I am so proud of the team, we showed a lot of character. I prepare myself and work a lot practising penalties. I was more than ready.
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