Article by Daniel Grigore – Published on Thursday, 05 March 2026, 07:51 / Updated on Thursday, 05 March 2026 07:51
Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton's young 33-year-old manager, accuses Arsenal after the match livewon by the “gunners” with 1-0, that they kept wasting time and that they would not have been interested in practicing pleasant football at any time.
On Wednesday night, in the 29th round of the Premier League, Arsenal won at Brighton, 1-0, with a goal scored by Bukayo Saka in the 9th minute. The Englishman's cross was deflected enough to fool Bart Verbruggen.
Arsenal finished the match with just one more shot on target. Brighton had more chances, 11-7 overall, and had superior possession, 60-40%.
The way the opponents approached the match, especially towards the end, being at the shelter of that 1-0, irritated the coach of the hosts, Fabian Hurzeler. He had also attacked the “gunners” before the matchfor their fixed phase tricks.
Fabian Hurzeler, after Brighton – Arsenal 0-1: “Have you seen anything like this before in a Premier League game?”
“The stats don't lie. They had one shot on goal, we created a lot of chances. We weren't that efficient, we could have been more cynical in front of goal, calmer, made better decisions. We lost and I'm very disappointed. But in terms of the performance, I really liked the effort put in by my boys, the way they play football. I think only one team tried to play football today. I'm proud of how they did it,” Hurzeler said at the press conference.
When asked to elaborate, he answered:
“I ask you one thing: Have you ever seen the goalkeeper collapse on the pitch three times in a Premier League match? Not? I think we shouldn't waste too many words on this topic, but focus on us, on our performance. We cannot control such things, the Premier League must find a common rule.”
Brighton manager accuses Arsenal of anti-football: 'I'll never be that kind of manager'
“There are different ways to win. If they win the Premier League, nobody will ask how they did it. I think it shows they did everything they could to win this game. If a referee allows anything, it becomes complicated, they make their own rules. That's what I feel now, that I make my own rules.
I will never be a coach like that, who tries to win like that. I want the players to be well, to keep getting better, and to play football. Ultimately, every team will run out of time, but there has to be a limit. And this limit should be set by the Premier League, by the referees. At this moment, [adversarii] they can do what they want. (…)
Where will we go in the future? In a match, we normally play 60 minutes. But with Arsenal we only get to 50. It's a difference of 10 minutes. Is that what fans pay for?“, he added.
Mikel Arteta's ironic reply: “What a surprise”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was quizzed at his own press conference about his counterpart's claims. In short, the Iberian accused Hurzeler of complaining all the time.
“What a surprise (no – ironic). You can go to previous matches and see that always [a făcut] such comments. I love my players. That's the title. I love my players and the way they compete,” said Arteta.
What Fabian Hurzeler said before the match:
When Arsenal have a corner and are driving, sometimes it takes them more than a minute just to take it.
Therefore, we just need to set clear rules. Every fan who pays a lot of money to go to the stadium and watch us play should see the same playing time.
They want to see a football event and maybe they don't want 50 minutes where the ball is in play and 40 minutes when the game is not in progress!
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It was a vital win for Arsenal, especially as Manchester City were held to a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest on the same evening. The leader increased his advantage to 7 points, with the mention that he played one match more than the “citizens”.
