While Mikel Arteta and Sergio Conceição argue after Porto’s victory against Arsenal on Wednesday evening, Pep Guardiola finds himself in the crossfire.
Mikel Arteta did not hide his frustration after Arsenal’s defeat against Porto (1-0), this Wednesday in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League. The Gunners coach criticized the Portuguese’s defensive style of play and the high number of fouls called.
“We are used to playing against defensive blocks,” Arteta said. “The best thing about our team was the attitude. We wanted to play. Faced with such a low block and a team that has no intention of playing, that’s what we have to do. »
The Spaniard also criticized the refereeing, saying that the numerous whistles disrupted the rhythm of the match. “They break the rhythm all the time, there were 35 or 37 fouls in the match. We couldn’t touch their players because everything was whistled. We will learn from this, prepare better and win the second leg. »
“Possession means scoring goals”
Statements which did not fail to provoke a reaction from Sergio Conceição, the Porto manager. He expressed his views on Arteta’s playing philosophy, a view also shared by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
“They wanted to play, we wanted to win,” the Portuguese told journalists. He comes from a school that favors possession, like Guardiola, who believes that the essence of the game is this possession. Possession, the important thing is what we do with it. Possession means scoring goals and not conceding anything in front of your own goal. And we were the most dangerous team. »
The return match at the Emirates Stadium promises to be electric. Arsenal will have to score at least two goals to hope to qualify for the quarter-finals.
