Mikel Arteta hails ‘magical night’ as Arsenal beat Porto on penalties to reach Champions League quarter-finals and plays down Sergio Conceicao row… after Portuguese accused him of ‘insulting his family’

David Raya emerged as Arsenal’s hero as they booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals in a bloody victory over Porto.

Goalkeeper Raya saved two penalties in a tense shootout after Leandro Trossard leveled the aggregate score to send the Emirates into delirium as the Gunners secured their place in the last eight for the first time since 2010.

But the match was marred by clashes between both sets of players and benches, while rival coaches Mikel Arteta and Sergio Conceicao, who accused their counterpart of insulting their family, became involved in a heated confrontation after the final whistle.

‘It was a magical night. It was what we expected against a tough and very well organized opponent, Arteta said.

“We scored a nice goal. It’s a great experience for us, we needed penalties and we prepared well for it.

Arteta and his counterpart Sergio Conceicao (above) were involved in a heated confrontation after the final whistle.

Conceicao accused Arteta of insulting his family in Spanish during the match

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‘We found a way, I can see how much they want to win. How much they were sacrificing. When you play like this, sooner or later everything will turn out the way you want.

“I’ve probably never experienced an atmosphere like that at the Emirates, it was incredible from start to finish. A big thank you to them and today I thought they impacted the game.

Regarding the shooting, Arteta added: “We practiced on the training ground, some failed, but in the end you have to do it at night.”

“It is a big step for the club, the best thing is that we are not satisfied and we want to go to the next round.”

Raya added: “It’s obviously a great feeling for me personally, first time in the Champions League and for the club to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in so many years.”

“We played a really good game from the beginning. We dominated, we created chances and it all came down to penalties.

The Gunners won 1-0 that night, but needed penalties to progress to the quarter-finals.

David Raya was the hero, saving two of Porto’s four penalties in the shootout.

“We’ve worked a lot on penalties this year and all the hard work with the goalkeeping coach and the team has paid off.”

Conceicao accused Arteta of disrespecting his family during the match.

When asked about the clash with the Gunners coach after the final whistle, Conceicao responded: “The result was unfair. The team deserved to go through. What Arteta said, towards the bench in Spanish, insulted my family. He should focus on training to your team”.

Arteta declined to comment on the matter after the match.