Mikel Arteta and Arsenal respond to claims of him insulting the family of Porto's coach

Mikel Arteta in his post-match press conference after Arsenal's round of 16 victory over Porto responded to claims of him insulting the family of the Porto head coach.

Mikel Arteta in his post-match press conference where he spoke about Arsenal's preparation coming into the game declined to speak about what happened between him and the Porto head coach on the touchline at the final whistle. When asked, " What do you expect from the rest of the Champions League and what happened between you and Conceicao?" He said, "Really, really happy. We want more. Let’s wait till we have to play again. And no comment, thank you so much."

Sources close to Arsenal have also reportedly stated that Arteta did not make such statements.

What happened between Arteta and Ceonceicao?

Following an intense match between Arsenal and Porto, which had ended in a penalty shootout victory for Arsenal, there was a continuation of the bad blood between the two teams. The tension between the managers, Sergio Conceicao of Porto and Mikel Arteta of Arsenal escalated as they exchanged heated words after the final whistle.

Arteta was initially tight-lipped about the incident and declined to comment during his post-match press conference. However, Conceicao later revealed that the Arsenal manager's comments during their altercation had been about his family. It is unclear what exactly was said during the heated exchange, but this revelation has only added fuel to the already charged atmosphere between the two clubs.

In his post-match press conference, he said, "During the game and towards the bench he, in Spanish, I don’t know if this is to do with Spanish managers, he insulted my family. And then at the end, I said attention, who he insults is not between us, he should focus on training his team because they have a lot of individual qualities to do that."

What happened between Porto and Havertz?

Throughout the contest between the two sides, a palpable tension hung in the air. The atmosphere was tetchy, with players committing a total of 74 fouls across the course of both games. The manager of the Portuguese team, Sergio Conceicao, was heavily involved in this. After his side's 1-0 win in the first leg at Estadio do Dragao, Conceicao made a comment that suggested his team was more focused on winning than playing.

This prickly attitude continued into the second leg as well, as the 49-year-old manager was involved in a touchline altercation with Kai Havertz. The intensity of the games was evident in the behaviour of both teams, with tempers flaring on multiple occasions.

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