Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Mikel Arteta refuses to comment on Sergio Conceicao incident

sportsmole.co.uk, 13 March 2024, 07:53
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta refused to comment when asked about his post-match exchange with Porto boss Sergio Conceicao following the Gunners' enthralling Champions League last-16 success.

Heading into the second leg with a 1-0 deficit to make up from the opening encounter, Arsenal levelled the tie on aggregate through Leandro Trossard's fine first-half finish but could not find a way through a resolute Porto defence for a second time.

Following 120 minutes of nerve-wracking action, goalkeeper David Raya wrote his hero story with two saves from the penalty spot, as Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals with a 4-2 shootout success after a 1-1 aggregate draw.

After the action had concluded, Arteta went to shake hands with Conceicao on the Emirates pitch, but his opposite number rebuffed the gesture and instead made a comment into the Spaniard's ear before the pair went their separate ways.

Conceicao then accused the Arsenal boss of insulting his family during his post-game press conference, telling reporters: "The result was unjust. Our team deserved to go through.

"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."

Conceicao had previously blasted Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola for an "extremely unpleasant" attitude during their clash in the 2020-21 group stage, before also going on to claim that then-Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel had insulted him after their quarter-final encounter that same year.

However, when asked by the media to lift the lid on his post-match conversation with Conceicao, Arteta had little to say, responding: "No comment. Thank you very much."

A few minutes before ugly scenes broke out at full time, where the two sets of players had to be separated, Arsenal quartet Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka all scored from the spot before Raya saved from Wendell and Galeno.

The Brentford loanee managed to tip the former's effort onto the post and then counted his lucky stars as the ball came back off his legs and bounced away, before springing to his left to deny Galeno, whose last-minute goal in the first leg had seen the Portuguese giants travel to North London with a slender advantage.

Bedlam reigned supreme in North London as Arsenal ended a 14-year exile from the Champions League quarter-finals, having last featured in the final eight in the 2009-10 season before seven straight last-16 eliminations.

"Magic, what we expected, a really tough opponent, really well organised, very difficult to generate constant momentum in the game in the way they play and that's credit to them," Arteta added.

"We did it, we scored a beautiful goal, they insisted in different ways, in the way the game allowed as well, and it's such a huge experience for us.

"We had to do it at the end with the penalties, we prepared well, and credit to the coaches as well for the way they did it and obviously for David [Raya]. He had some difficult moments to start but he stood up, had an incredible personality and ambition, and at the end he got rewarded with his moment."

Arsenal are one of six teams in the quarter-final pot alongside Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, while two of Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and PSV Eindhoven will complete the last-eight draw on Wednesday.

With no FA Cup commitments to worry about this weekend, Arteta's men will not be back in action until after the international break, when they travel to Man City for a mouthwatering Premier League battle on March 31.

Top News

15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool manager Arne Slot has reportedly given the thumbs-up to the Reds making a move for a highly-rated Eredivisie attacker in the summer transfer window. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have reportedly laid out their financial demands to let struggling attacker Emile Smith Rowe leave the club this summer. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk One of Arsenal's home-grown talents has reportedly informed the Gunners that he wants to assess his options for a transfer elsewhere in the summer window. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk European Championship holders Italy bounced back from an early setback to record a 2-1 victory over Albania in their Euro 2024 opener on Saturday night. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Nedim Bajrami has broken a European Championship record after scoring in Albania's 2-1 defeat to Italy in their opening Euro 2024 Group B clash at Westfalenstadion on Saturday night. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Croatia captain Luka Modric has said that his side must move on quickly from their disappointing 3-0 defeat to Spain in their opening match at Euro 2024. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Spain captain Alvaro Morata is confident that he will be available for his country's second match at Euro 2024 after suffering an injury scare against Croatia on Saturday evening. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Lamine Yamal said that he was "thrilled" to play a key role in Spain's 3-0 success over Croatia, with La Roja making an impressive start to their Euro 2024 campaign. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente has said that his side must remain focused after opening their European Championship campaign with an impressive win over Croatia. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing two players from Serie A during this summer's transfer window. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have reportedly identified a replacement for Erling Haaland should the prolific attacker leave the club in the near future. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Carvajal scored the goals as Spain opened their Euro 2024 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Croatia in Berlin on Saturday evening. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City's Mateo Kovacic has reportedly attracted interest from Turkish side Galatasaray ahead of this summer's transfer window. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Brighton & Hove Albion have confirmed the appointment of Fabian Hurzeler as their new head coach. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The Premier League is widely regarded as the best division in world football that has been blessed with a plethora of talent players and successful managers. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Poland will be looking to end a 45-year streak when they square off against Netherlands on Sunday afternoon. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aston Villa have reportedly been in discussions with Chelsea over a potential deal for Ian Maatsen during this summer's transfer window. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Lamine Yamal has become the youngest-ever player to feature in the finals of a European Championship at the age of 16 years and 338 days old. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich are reportedly willing to allow Alphonso Davies to enter the final 12 months of his contract in what is a huge blow to Real Madrid's chances of signing the Canadian. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are allegedly willing to let one of their most important players leave the club during this summer's transfer window if a suitable offer arrives. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United's new minority shareholder has allegedly made six members of the first-team squad at Old Trafford 'unsellable' during this summer's transfer window. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Switzerland survived a late Hungary scare to triumph 3-1 in their opening Euro 2024 Group A contest in Cologne. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Argentina has confirmed that Brighton & Hove Albion defender Valentin Barco is one of three players omitted from Lionel Scaloni's final Copa America squad. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have contacted Premier League rivals Chelsea regarding the potential signing of 21-year-old Levi Colwill this summer, according to a report. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City will reject any offers for striker Julian Alvarez this summer amid ongoing interest from several big clubs across Europe including Chelsea, according to a report. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have apparently taken the first step towards their maiden summer signing by making contact with Premier League rivals Everton over a deal for a £50m-rated midfielder. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal are eyeing a move for highly-rated Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams in this summer's transfer window, according to a report. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Belgium are expected to line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation against Slovakia on Monday, with the Red Devils bidding to make the perfect start to their Euro 2024 campaign. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Slovakia's squad for Euro 2024 is headlined by Milan Skriniar, and the Paris Saint-Germain defender is in line to win his 69th cap for his national side in their campaign opener against Belgium. 15 June 2024 sportsmole.co.uk France manager Didier Deschamps is reportedly considering making a U-turn on a key Euro 2024 selection decision involving Arsenal centre-back William Saliba.