Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion may not have been a masterpiece of free attacking football, but it was a huge step towards the Premier League title.
Bukayo Saka’s deflected shot in the ninth minute proved to be the deciding factor, with Mikel Arteta’s side taking advantage of Manchester City’s blunder to move into the lead with a seven-point lead.
However, the post-match narrative soon became dominated by a clash of styles and a heated battle of words.
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler was clearly irritated at the final whistle and launched an astonishing rant against Arsenal’s tactics.
Hürzeler was troubled by Arsenal’s tactics
Frustrated by the Gunners’ gamesmanship and slow restarts, Hürzeler accused the visitors of ruining the spectacle, with data suggesting it took Arsenal more than 30 minutes to restart play throughout the match.
“Only one team tried to play soccer today.” The German manager was furious after pointing out that Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya had gone down three times for treatment.
Hürzeler boldly declared that Arsenal’s approach was “not football”, saying: “I’ll never be the kind of coach who tries to win that way.”
Gabriel Magalhães gives a strong reaction
Gabriel Magalhães, who produced a monumental man-of-the-match performance to keep Brighton at bay with a crucial block and a towering header, was quick to dismiss Hürzeler’s complaints.
The Brazilian centre-back made it clear to the media that the Brighton camp’s complaints mean little to the league leaders.
As reported by the Standard, he told ESPN Brazil:
“We don’t really care what he says.
“That’s for the referee to decide on the pitch. Whether he gives a yellow card or not, the referee decides how much time we have.
“We’re just going to do things the way we’ve been doing them and keep moving forward.”
Gabriel’s unceremonious dismissal perfectly illustrates the ruthless mentality currently driving Arsenal.
Arteta’s side are no longer interested in winning popularity contests or winning plaudits for playing beautiful football if it means dropping points away from home.
With their eyes firmly set on the Premier League trophy, Arsenal’s only focus is on getting across the goal line, no matter how much ruffled feathers they have to ruffle along the way.
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