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Porto manager Sergio Conceicao hits back after hearing what Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta said last night
Porto manager Sergio Conceicao seemed annoyed by some of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s comments after the game last night.
Arsenal suffered a shock defeat after Galeno’s 94th-minute winner at the Estadio do Dragao. Arteta, unsurprisingly, was disappointed with the result, and his assessment of the game hasn’t gone down well in the Porto camp.
Porto manager Sergio Conceicao hits back at Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
Porto made last night’s game a really frustrating one for Arsenal.
There were so many stoppages of play because of fouls, and that gave the Gunners no rhythm to build play up like they usually do.
Unsurprisingly, Arsenal struggled, and Porto took their chance right at the end of the game thanks to a fantastic strike from Galeno.
Portuguese media outlet quoted Mikel Arteta after the game, saying: “FC Porto is a very organized team and it’s difficult to create opportunities, because they don’t want to leave and they had no intention of playing either.”
Sergio Conceicao wasn’t too happy with the above comments. He told : “It’s an opinion. They wanted to play, we wanted to win.”
Speaking about possession, the Porto boss added: “The opposing coach [Mikel Arteta] meant it, it seems to me. It is from a school that privileges the possession of the ball, as Guardiola, the most awarded coach. They think the essence of playing is this possession of the ball.
“It depends on the team you have, the interpreters you have and the strategy. 40/60% in possession, I wouldn’t mind having 30%/70% and winning the same way. Possession of the ball has to do with how you do it.
“Possession serves to score goals and not concede goals in our goal. We were the most dangerous team today.”
Arsenal will need to fare better in the second leg
Arsenal went into the game last night on the back of five wins on the bounce in the Premier League. The aggregate score in those fixtures was 21-2, which is outstanding.
Football, however, is a funny game, and despite their incredible form, Arsenal failed to register a shot on target against Porto last night.
That will have to change in the return leg next month if the Gunners want to have any chance of progressing into the next round of the Champions League.
Up next for Arsenal, however, is a game against Newcastle United in the Premier League. There’s every chance they will play exactly like Porto did last night.