Fabian Hürzeler, the manager of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., gave a completely honest statement to the media after the Premier League match against Arsenal F.C. and the 0–1 defeat. He strongly criticised Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.
The German manager was very clear in his remarks, saying that Arsenal are doing everything to win the title. He was especially critical of Arsenal’s open-play football — constantly avoiding open play, relying on set pieces, and the frequent injuries to their players that break the rhythm of the game and of the opponent. Hürzeler said that Arsenal are doing everything to win points and that it was clear that only Brighton tried to win the match.
The Brighton manager also pointed out that referees in the Premier League do whatever they want. Referees have indeed favoured Arsenal in recent weeks. Manchester City F.C. were clearly denied a penalty against Nottingham Forest F.C., and Chelsea F.C. were also denied a clear penalty in the first half against Aston Villa F.C.
Here is Fabian Hürzeler’s full press conference interview given after the Arsenal fixture in the Premier League, in which Arsenal won by a score of 0:1. They were expected to beat Brighton, who have not good in a few months.
About the game.
“I think statistics never lie. We conceded one shot on the goal, we created a lot of chances, we weren’t that effective. Also in the final third we could have been more clinical, more calm, we could have made better decisions.
“I love 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.
On David Raya’s procrastinating habits.
I ask one question, did you see in the Premier League game a goalkeeper going down three times? No? So I think we shouldn’t waste too many words about that tonight. We should focus on us, we should focus on our performance. We can’t control these kinds of things.
Finding the rule by Premier League.
“I think therefore the Premier League has to find the rule and it’s not my business. I made my point before the game and I stick to it, in the end we are football coaches, so no other football coach to manage the game, to help the team to win, and therefore the focus is on it.”
“Very difficult, very difficult, but we tried it, we tried it hard. We tried to keep the ball moving, we tried to keep creating chances, and in the end I think these kinds of opponents you can only punish by winning against them.
What was the deserved result according to Hutzeler?
So today I have no arguments on my side, if I had a 2-1 win, a deserved 2-1 win, I could speak differently. So therefore we need to find a way to punish it, we need to find a way to find solutions against these kinds of teams and that’s our responsibility, so there we have to keep working.
“Complaining doesn’t help, so that’s why focus is on us.”
There are different kinds of winning, so if they win the Premier League, no one will ask how they win the Premier League. I think you can really feel that they do everything now to win this game and in the end it’s about the rules.
“If the Premier League, if the referee allows everything then it’s difficult, then they make their own rules. At the moment I have the feeling Arsenal are doing their own rules, no matter how they are playing. That’s why I think it’s difficult to judge that.
They are doing everything for three points. There had to be a limit.
“Overall, like I said, I will never be that kind of manager who tries to win in that way, I want to do well, I want my players to keep improving and keep playing football on the pitch and in the end, of course, every team will manage and waste time, but I think there has to be a limit and the limit has to be set by the Premier League, the limit has to be set by the referees, at the moment they just can do what they want.”
Nobody enjoyed football because of Arsenal who is ruining it.
Everyone here in the room, did you really enjoy this football game? I’m sure maybe one raises his arm because he’s a big Arsenal fan, but besides that, no chance.
“So, that’s why, again, it’s just a repetition, we waste too much time talking about Arsenal and their game.
“It’s really focusing on us, focusing on the positive things, focusing on the effort my team gave today and they deserved more, but again, we didn’t get the result we deserved, so we have to keep working harder to punish them the next time.”
They are champions. He said.
Then they are champions, but I think it’s always the way we just spoke about, the way of winning, which kind of way you are choosing. And if they win, I said it: no one will ask how they win, then they deserve to win it,
The ultimate point.
“But in the end we have to make the limits, or the Premier League has to make the limits. Where will this go in the future? That’s my question, where will this go?
“Like, at one point, one game you play 60 minutes, and then when you play against Arsenal only 50 minutes, then it’s 10 minutes difference, so is this for what the supporters are paying for? Do you get my point?”
“It’s difficult, I said it to him: [referee Chris Kavanagh]: it’s difficult for him, so I won’t complain about the referee. Do you want to send off the goalkeeper with two yellow cards for wasting time? This will never happen, so what should he do?
“That’s the thing, that’s why I think you need rules, you need limits, because that’s also what he admits to me at half-time. I didn’t talk even about the penalty we might receive before the half-time, we just talked about how can you reduce the time of waste, and he says it’s even difficult for him.
It is a responsibility of the Premier League. No one else’s responsibility.
“So that’s why what I said is making clear rules and I think that’s responsibility from the Premier League, because then you can protect the referee.
“In the end, you can’t go on the referee because of that, like, they just try to make their job the best they can do, but they have to stick to some things and I think the Premier League definitely have to help them more.”
Fabian Hürzeler addressed it and said for all of us!
Fabian Hürzeler said everything. He pointed out the obvious truth that is right in front of everyone. It is not about who plays better football. Arsenal F.C. are not developing their football, and that will be visible in the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal have been closing games and controlling the league since December, but they are not playing real football — they are doing everything possible just to beat their opponents and avoiding football.
Since last December, the team has been winning while playing very difficult and unattractive football. Their dominance is not based on good open play but on set pieces. The biggest problem is that Mikel Arteta’s team does not play good football in open play. They do not threaten opponents through offensive domination; instead, everything revolves around scoring from set pieces, corners, and free kicks.
You say it. Is this the right way? Or not?
If somebody had said this about the Champions of England years ago, he would have been laughed out of. Now that is what Arteta and Arsenal are doing, and the FA allows it with the rules.
The bad image Arsenal leaves behind.
That is not a good image for a league leader. They managed to beat Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. in the cup and reached first place in the league by doing everything possible to secure three points. It is difficult to imagine a champion playing such poor football. Their style is not worthy of a leader. The lack of player development and the obsession with finally winning a league title after more than twenty years shows a losing mentality.
Waiting for a corner and relying on Gabriel Magalhães is not the same as dominating through real football. It is better to lead the league while playing strong and attacking football from open play. It is good to take risks, to make mistakes, to lose sometimes, but also to win through real football. That is exactly what Arsenal are not doing.
Manchester City plays the best football this season!
Manchester City F.C. still play the best football in England, while Arteta is doing everything just to secure the title. But the question is how much this approach will cost him and them. It will cost him a lot, first of all in the Champions League, because Arsenal do not have a clear football identity. Their wins against FC Bayern Munich and Inter Milan came in the group stage; Arsenal still cannot impose its rhythm and tempo on matches.
This style of play could collapse after only a few months, and next season in the Premier League, when everything starts from zero again, things could become very problematic for Arsenal. The project and the development of players have been sacrificed just to win the league title. That is the Arsenal mentality that is well known.
Manchester City are still in the title race.
Manchester City are still in the title race. Much will depend on how they perform in the coming matches. Pep Guardiola has brought in players like Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guéhi and tried to reshape the core of the team. City still changed ground earlier in the season. The title could still end up in Manchester City’s hands if they play well; they can reach the goal.
The goal Arteta is aiming for with his fool dedication and by his life! Like his life depends on it! He is only ever to win the Premier League trophy.
It is so funny! By extremes!
Arteta has shown the mentality of a small manager under pressure from the club’s directors to finally win the Premier League title. This season has exposed many weaknesses. His position at the top of the table has completely changed the narrative, revealing the mentality of a manager who has been given one big opportunity to win something major.
The FA Rules and the refrying criterium caused this situation directly!
The entire situation also raises questions about how the league is being officiated. By allowing extremely physical football and giving priority to defensive battles, refereeing standards have pushed the game toward physical dominance rather than technical quality. This has helped Arsenal use the rules to their advantage — building their success on defensive structure and set pieces.
Lionel Messi would not succeed with these rules ongoing!
If football had always allowed such physical tackling, players like Lionel Messi might never have succeeded the way they did at FC Barcelona. When excessive physical aggression is tolerated, technical talent and attacking creativity are pushed aside. That environment favours physical strength and defensive tactics, and it is exactly the environment that helped push Arteta’s Arsenal to the top of the Premier League.
Football should reward talent and creativity, not constant physical battles. In the past, players who behaved violently on the pitch were not called footballers — they were simply removed from the game
Now they are regular Premier League players. We are talking about players who, in some cases, should be banned from football for life. We are talking about players who strike their opponents with their fists during matches in the Premier League, and we will see the consequences of that sooner or later. It will confirm many of the things that Fabian Hürzeler said.
Attempting murders with the desire to harm extrinsically during PL fixtures happens often. They are part of the game. People like this are not footballers and should not play in the Premier League in front of the kids and others.
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