After Wednesday’s win over Brighton, Mikel Arteta suggested it was no surprise to hear Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler complaining about the game.
Even before Wednesday’s game kicked off, Fabian Hurzeler had already spent time in his pre-match press conference complaining about Arsenal wasting time.
The Brighton boss called for a rule change, and ex-Arsenal striker Alan Smith suggested the manager was trying to get in the heads of the officials before the match.
But if that was the plan, it didn’t work, as the Gunners won the match 1-0 without any significant influence from the referees. Perhaps frustrated by his team’s third consecutive defeat to Arsenal this season, Hurzeler went on another post-match rant to the media.
“I made my point before the game and I stick to it,” Hurzeler said. “I think there was only one team who tried to play football today, and therefore I’m proud how they did it.
“Did you see in a Premier League game, a goalkeeper going down three times? No? If the referee allows everything, then it’s difficult. Then [Arsenal] make their own rules. At the moment I have the feeling they are doing their own rules.
“I will never be that kind of manager, who tries to win in that way.”
“What a surprise,” Arteta responded when presented with Hurzeler’s quotes. “You just go back to the previous games and you will find a lot of comments like this, always.”
When asked if he cares what other managers say or think, Arteta answered: “Depends.”
The Arsenal boss was then asked whether his opinion ‘depends’ on which manager made the comment, and he responded: “Yeah, and the comment [itself], yeah.”
Hurzeler seemed very worked up on the sidelines, his frustration visible throughout the match even from a distance. It’s not clear exactly why, as prior to this game there was no obvious reason for bad blood between the two teams or the two managers.
Brighton also aren’t particularly desperate for results, quite a way clear of the relegation zone and not close to the European qualification spots.
It’s possible the manager’s ego was simply bruised by his repeated failures to get one over on Arsenal and Arteta. He remains winless in five matches against the Gunners, and the away end made sure to rub in Brighton’s League Cup elimination in songs about their upcoming trip to Wembley.
Sadly for Hurzeler, with his team out of the cups, not in Europe, and having already played Arsenal twice in the Premier League, there will be no opportunity for revenge this season.
After this brief moment in the spotlight, Hurzeler and Brighton are set to watch their season fading into obscurity.