A temperamental Mark Hughes cut his post-match press conference short after being asked for his thoughts on abusive Stoke chants that were directed towards Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

The Potters manager was speaking to the press in the wake of his team’s 3-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday but things soon turned sour.

When asked for his thoughts on the Stoke fans’ chants, Hughes replied: “Did they? Ok, well I didn’t hear them”. At that point, the manager abruptly left while refusing to answer any further questions.

Ramsey, who was not named in Saturday's match-day squad, suffered a broken leg in February 2010 following Ryan Shawcross’ dangerous challenge on the player during a Premier League encounter between Arsenal and Stoke.

The Welshman was subsequently ruled out of the game for 10 months and reportedly refused to later accept Shawcross’ apology.

As a result, Stoke fans have since sung abusive chants at the midfielder during almost every fixture between the two teams.



Before walking out of his press conference, Hughes had confessed that Arsenal were the better side.

"We stumbled today but we have been on a good run," Hughes said.

"On another day you never know with the chances we created; we might have got a positive result. But it's fair to say they were the better side.

Arsenal transfer targets Show all 7 1 /7 Arsenal transfer targets Arsenal transfer targets Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) Arsenal were reportedly interested in signing the Gabonese striker in the summer and may return with an offer to Dortmund at the end of the season. Aubameyang has been in scintillating form this season, scoring 15 goals in 15 games in all competitions. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Paul-Georges Ntep (Rennes) The left-midfielder’s deal at Rennes expires at the end of the season and so he will be free to sign a pre-contract in January. A strong dribbler of the ball, Ntep has been made two appearances for France. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Reece Oxford (West Ham) After Oxford became West Ham’s youngest ever player to appear in the Premier League at just 16 years old (his debut came against the Gunners), he immediately attracted interest from some of England’s big clubs, including Arsenal. However he is reportedly set to sign a new five-year deal. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid) The 21-year-old Uruguayan has already played 21 times for his country and has been touted as a future world-class centre-back. Currently on the books of Atletico Madrid, Gimenez is not a regular and a move in January would surely appeal to him. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Peter Gwargis - Husqvarna “Who?” you may ask. The Swedish midfielder is just 16 years old and has been compared to current Arsenal attacker Mesut Özil after he started training with the Husqvarna first team in his home country. The Gunners face competition from PSV for his signature according to the player’s representative. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Stefan de Vrij (Lazio) The Netherlands defender is contracted to Lazio until 2019 but has been linked with a move to Chelsea and Arsenal. De Vrij, who used to play for Feyenoord in his home country, has been in good form this season as Lazio sit fourth in Serie A. Getty Arsenal transfer targets Chris Smalling (Manchester United) After Jose Mourinho’s strong public criticism of the England defender, other Premier League clubs have been put on alert if Smalling decides he wants to leave the Manchester club. Getty

"I thought we did OK for most parts of the game, especially in the first half when we caused them a number of problems."

He added: "Once you go behind to Arsenal it becomes more difficult because you chase the game and they are quite adept at countering.

"We kept going and had chances, it could have gone our way but they are a very good side and lots of teams lately have struggled to keep them at bay.

"I thought we did OK in that regard and maybe the three goals is a bit harsh on us."