“The person he insulted is no longer among us,” Porto Manager claims Mikel Arteta insulted his deceased parents after getting knocked out of the Champions League

Sergio Conceicao had also refused to shake Mikel Arteta's hand after the end of the match.

“The person he insulted is no longer among us,” Porto Manager claims Mikel Arteta insulted his deceased parents after getting knocked out of the Champions League

Sergio Conceicao and Mikel Arteta argue (Image via The Independent)

On 12th March, Arsenal beat Porto in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, winning on penalties. Winning 1-0 on regular time, bringing the aggregate score to 1-1, the match went to a penalty shootout, with David Raya making two crucial saves to win the match. 

While the Arsenal fans, players, management and officials enjoyed their win, the Porto manager Sergio Conceicao accused Mikel Arteta of insulting his deceased family. He was visibly livid.

YouTube video

In the post-match conference, Conceicao claimed the Arsenal manager said it during the match, which had enraged him. 

Arteta turned to the bench during the game and insulted my family in Spanish. I told him that the person he insulted is no longer among us. Let him worry about training his team, which has more than enough quality to play a lot better.

Sergio Conceicao said

The Arsenal officials denied this claim, saying Arteta had never abused the Portuguese manager in any way. When asked about it in the post-match press conference, the Spaniard said:

No comment. Thanks very much.
Mikel Arteta said

The two had even confronted each other after the end of the match. Arteta went to shake the hand of Conceicao, but he refused and instead exchanged words with him. Earlier in the game, the manager was also pushed by Kai Havertz when the ball had landed in the Porto technical area.

https://twitter.com/dacodacC7/status/1767691004050657618?s=20

Mikel Arteta hails David Raya after penalty heroics 

When David Raya joined Arsenal from Brentford, many Arsenal fans were unsure of the signing. They didn’t think he would be good enough to step up in the place of the already popular Aaron Ramsdale, who was Arsenal’s #1 for the past two years. Months later, Raya has now become an integral part of the Gunner’s set-up, and his man-of-the-match performance against Porto has now convinced everyone he is the man for the job. 

David Raya
David Raya celebrates in front of the fans (Image via Goal)

In the post-match interview, Arteta hailed the new signing for stepping up and proving his place at the club. Raya had saved the penalties of Galeno and Wendell to ensure Arsenal qualified for the quarter-finals. 

David had some difficult moments at the start. He has stood up with incredible personality and ambition and in the end he’s been rewarded.
Mikel Arteta on David Raya

Arsenal’s win over Porto means the Gunners have gone past the Round of 16 for the first time since 2010. Coincidentally, they had beaten Porto in the RO16, but lost 6-3 on aggregate to FC Barcelona. 

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