‘Loves himself’ - Mikel Arteta slammed by former PSG ace after strong Porto accusation made

Former France international Jerome Rothen has insisted Mikel Arteta went “too far” following Arsenal’s dramatic Champions League win over Porto.

Both dugouts could be seen clashing after the Gunners won the last 16 tie on penalties. David Raya proved the hero in the shoot-out but tensions at the full-time whistle threatened to dominate the headlines.

In his post-match press conference, Porto manager Sergio Conceicao accused Arteta of insulting his late mother during the game. The Arsenal boss is alleged to have used the term “concha de tu madre” which translates to “your mother’s shell” in English but, to Spanish speakers, becomes an insult for female genitalia.

Arteta issued a blunt “no comment” response when grilled about Conceicao’s accusations as he preferred to hail his players for their performance. Speaking on RMC Sport, former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Rothen slammed Arteta over the rumoured incident.

“Arteta went too far (after the game),” he said. “You can love yourself, see yourself as pretty, think you’re the future great manager of the world. That’s nothing to worry about but he was already a bit like that when he was a player.

“I had the opportunity to play against him. He loved himself even though he wasn’t the best player in the world. He didn’t like being tickled, even though he sometimes said things that went far.

​​“As a manager, you have to set an example. You can be arrogant and annoyed, but then you end up insulting your opponent… Stop! That’s not possible! One day, he’ll be caught out and he won’t like it. It almost happened yesterday.

“Conceicao, who’s a fiery person, reacted very well, whereas Arteta was out of line. I don’t understand why he didn’t apologise. He’s going to say again that he didn’t say anything.”