Mikel Arteta strongly denies Sergio Conceicao’s claim that the Arsenal boss insulted his family during Tuesday’s tense Champions League tie against Porto, which the Gunners won on penalties.

The two managers clashed on the pitch as Arsenal celebrated reaching the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since 2010 but Arteta afterwards refused to comment on their heated exchange.

But Conceicao, who did his post-match press conference after the Spaniard, claimed Arteta had insulted his family, saying: “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”.

Arteta, though, denies the accusation in strong terms, according to Arsenal club sources.

Both managers were booked during the match and emotions spilled over after Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya saved penalties from Brazilian duo Wendell and Galeno in the shootout.

Asked what had happened between him and Conceicao in his own press conference, Arteta said: “No comment, thank you so much.”

Conceicao has previously clashed with Pep Guardiola, accusing the Manchester City boss of an “extremely unpleasant attitude” after their Champions League group-stage meeting at the Etihad Stadium back in October 2020.

Portuguese Conceicao also claimed that Guardiola “spoke about our country using ugly words” and said that he “pressures referees, talks to opposition players and the opposition dugout”, accusations that were rejected by the Spaniard.

Conceicao also accused current Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel of insulting him during a Champions League quarter-final tie against Chelsea in April 2021, a claim denied by the German and the Blues.