Sergio Conceicao accuses Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta of insulting his dead relative in Spanish
FC Porto manager Sergio Conceicao claims Mikel Arteta accused his dead relatives during Arsenal's Round-of-16 Champions League win on Tuesday (March 12).
This match saw several heated confrontations on and off the pitch, given the prize at stake. Porto entered the second leg at the Emirates holding a 1-0 advantage but saw the tie restored to parity by Leandro Trossard in the 41st minute (1-1).
These were the only goals fans would witness, as the game was eventually decided on penalties in favor of the home side (4-2). However, the second leg produced several fiery tackles as the on-field referee let most things go.
During the heat of the battle, the Portuguese outfit's manager believes Arteta insulted his family in Spanish. Conceicao said (via @FabrizioRomano):
"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."
On the night, Arsenal weren't at their free-flowing best and found it difficult to create clear-cut opportunities. From 13 attempts, they placed four on target compared to the visitor's 10 shots, of which three tested David Raya in goal.
Regardless, the Gunners now enjoy their first Champions League quarter-final qualification since the 2009/10 season.
Mikel Arteta lavishes praise on David Raya after penalty shootout heroics for Arsenal
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya stole the show as he produced two saves in the penalty shootout against Porto in their round-of-16 UEFA Champions League meeting.
The Gunners scored from all four attempts in the shootout, while Porto converted only two of their four strikes. Praising his goalkeeper after the match, Mikel Arteta said (via the club's official website):
"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."
Raya joined the Emirates on loan from Brentford before the start of the season and has since replaced Aaron Ramsdale as the first-choice keeper. He's played 29 matches across competitions this campaign and kept 13 clean sheets.