Fabian Hurzeler launched a passionate defence of his players and took aim at Arsenal – accusing the Gunners of time-wasting during a heated, but dull, Premier League encounter.
Hurzeler cut a frustrated figure after seeing his side fall to a 1-0 defeat despite what he felt was a dominant performance.
“I think statistics never lie,” he said.
“We conceded one shot on goal, we created a lot of chances, we weren't that effective. In the final third we could be more clinical, more calm. We could make better decisions and create even more chances.”
Fabian Hurzeler (pictured on the right) launched a passionate defence of his players and took aim at Arsenal – accusing the Gunners of time-wasting during a heated, but dull, Premier League encounter. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)placeholder image
Fabian Hurzeler (pictured on the right) launched a passionate defence of his players and took aim at Arsenal – accusing the Gunners of time-wasting during a heated, but dull, Premier League encounter. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Arsenal’s winning goal came after just nine minutes at the Amex Stadium on Wednesday (March 4). Bukayo Saka’s effort somehow beat Bart Verbruggen after a slight deflection off Carlos Baleba.
It was not a game for the neutral with a very stop-start feel to proceedings – with the visitors happy to defend their slender lead.
While disappointed with the result, Hurzeler insisted he was proud of his team’s approach.
He explained: “In the end we lost, so we are all disappointed regarding the performance. But I loved the effort from my boys, I loved how they played football. I think there was only one team who tried to play football today and therefore I'm proud of how they did it.
“We have to keep working on the details, improving the small margins in the final third to create more chances. That’s our job, our responsibility, and we will keep working.”
However, much of Hurzeler’s anger was directed at what he perceived to be Arsenal’s deliberate slowing of the game. Having described the Gunners as ‘creative’ with their use of time before the match, he doubled down on that assessment afterward.
“Creative, I said. Creative with the time. Took their time, wasted time – however you want to phrase it,” the German, 33, said, pointedly.
He also questioned the actions of Arsenal’s goalkeeper, David Raya, suggesting repeated stoppages disrupted the rhythm of the game.
“I ask one question: did you see in a Premier League game a goalkeeper going down three times?” he said to a reporter, post-match.
"No? So I think we shouldn’t waste too many words about that tonight.”
Hurzeler’s complaints were seemingly not well received by his counterpart. Mikel Arteta was seen pointing a finger at the Brighton boss shortly after the 25th minute mark, in a tense moment, caught by the TV cameras.
The Seagulls’ manager downplayed the confrontation.
“I can’t remember, I’m in my tunnel so I try to focus on my team,” he said. “Maybe a little bit complaining about one action of time-wasting – there were so many, so it could be one action of that.”
Despite his frustration, Hurzeler stopped short of directly blaming the officials, instead calling on the league to address the issue.
“We can’t control these kinds of things,” he said.
"Therefore the Premier League has to find the rule. It’s not my business. I made my point before the game and I stick to it. In the end we are football coaches, we try to manage the game and help the team to win. The focus is on that.”
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