Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith believes Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler is trying to game the referees ahead of Wednesday night’s match between the two teams.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference before Arsenal’s visit on Wednesday, Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler accused their upcoming opponents of spending too long on set-pieces.
“No one recognises it, but when Arsenal have a corner and they are leading, sometimes they spend over a minute just to take a corner,” Hurzeler said. “
“It disturbs the rhythm of the game and there are no clear rules any more, how much time you can spend for a corner, how much time you can spend for a throw-in.
“Therefore we just have to make clear rules, because then in the end we have a natural game time of 50 minutes instead of sometimes 65 minutes.”
Responding to the comments, ex-Arsenal striker Alan Smith told Sky Sports that he believes Hurzeler is trying to get in the heads of the officials over an issue that’s far from unique to the Gunners.
“Arsenal always used to be accused of being a bit too innocent and nice,” Smith said. “They know about gamesmanship now, how to tick down the clock, you know, how to influence the ref maybe, as a lot of teams and players do.
“It’s just getting in the ref’s and the officials’ heads, isn’t it, before a match like this. That’s what Hurzeler’s trying to do.”
Analysis from last month had Arsenal 12th in the Premier League in terms of the teams that take the longest over the restart, meaning the Gunners are below average for time wasted.
It’s true that corners are the one area Mikel Arteta’s side do take longer than anyone else, but Arsenal also score more goals from corners than anyone else. The delays are arguably less about running down the clock and more about getting their goalscoring technique right.
Arsenal can only hope the referees don’t fall for Hurzeler’s obvious pre-game tactics, and that they continue to officiate normally.