Barcelona forward Raphinha made a gesture to Atletico Madrid fans after the Champions League quarter-final and appeared to make a prediction.
Barcelona forward Raphinha has told Atletico Madrid fans they will not make it to the Champions League final. Atletico find themselves on the same side of the draw as Arsenal and will face the Gunners in the semi-final provided Mikel Arteta's side can see off Sporting CP.
Arsenal go into that clash as favourites against the Portuguese giants, off the back of their 1-0 victory away in the first leg. Should they progress past Sporting, Atletico, six months on from being thrashed 4-0 by the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium, will be standing in their way.
Diego Simeone's men beat Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate, despite going down 2-1 to Hansi Flick's side on the night. Following the final whistle, as Atletico supporters celebrated wildly, Raphinha marched onto the pitch and delivered a pointed message to the home crowd.
He gestured towards the taunting home fans before jabbing his right thumb in the opposite direction, as if to suggest: 'You'll be going out in the semi-final.'
It's a bold claim from the Brazilian winger, who came close to sealing a move to north London before Barcelona persuaded him to join the Nou Camp instead. Raphinha, however, was powerless to prevent his side from crashing out of the competition.
Simeone's team have, more often than not, been the outsiders in the competition. Should Arsenal secure their spot in the semi-finals by claiming at least a draw at home against Sporting, the bookmakers will probably install the north Londoners as favourites.
Back in October, Arsenal dominated Atletico 4-0 with strikes from Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and a double from Viktor Gyokeres sealing a comprehensive 4-0 victory at the Emirates.
Given that outcome, Arsenal will undoubtedly have considerable confidence they can achieve what Raphinha has forecast. Yet last weekend's home defeat to Bournemouth brought the Gunners crashing back to reality, following the euphoria of the dramatic late winner in Lisbon.
The elation of Kai Havertz's stoppage-time strike in the first leg against Sporting was wiped out by a disappointing home performance against Andoni Iraola's outfit. At his press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Arteta attempted to galvanise his squad and the club's supporters by insisting he is energised about the forthcoming challenges.
He said: "Fire! I'm on fire. I'm on fire. That's it. Nothing else. I'm dreaming so much. I've done so much to be in this position because I know how this club was. I've done so much against anything that this is beauty.
"I just see beauty, opportunity, and I want to get it done for all these people that have been in this journey with us. And because they deserve it, because it's been unbelievable. That's what has driven me every single day.
"I have zero fear. Fear I had when, 'Oh, if we don't get this done, this club, I don't know what is going to happen.' That was fear. Now, there's no fear. It's just purpose, fire, direction and conviction that we're going to do it."