A week and a half after Fabian Hürzeler harshly criticized Arsenal’s time-wasting tactics, the Brighton manager spoke out again on the issue. In doing so, he also provided insight into a private conversation with Mikel Arteta.
As is well known, soccer is a fast-paced business. Results or statements from the previous week are usually of little interest—except for those that caused a major stir. Fabian Hürzeler made such remarks after Brighton’s 0-1 loss to Arsenal nine days ago. At the time, he criticized the Gunners’ time-wasting tactics and also, at least indirectly, took aim at their manager, Mikel Arteta. “I will never be a coach who tries to win that way. Of course, every team will try to waste time, but there has to be a limit, and that limit has to be set by the Premier League and the referees,” said the 33-year-old.
His comments resonated so strongly that, a week and a half later, he had to answer questions on the subject again at the press conference ahead of the away match at Sunderland (Saturday, 4 p.m.). “I didn’t want to upset anyone, but on the other hand, I stand by my word that I wasn’t satisfied with certain things that day, and all the statistics confirm that. “What I said about time-wasting: We need to establish clear rules for that,” the coach reiterated at first.
Although he was right in his criticism—the ball was out of play for 30 minutes and 51 seconds, a negative record in the current Premier League season—he had already addressed Arteta personally the previous week. Following an initial message from Hürzeler, both coaches exchanged views. “For me, Arteta is one of the best coaches in the world; he’s a role model—but it’s important to speak your mind and not hide it. Even if you’re a smaller club,” said Hürzeler.
During this exchange, the Brighton coach also paid tribute to the Spaniard and his team. “I really admire what Arsenal has achieved so far this season and how Arteta and his team work. I’ll be the first to congratulate them if they win the Premier League,” Hürzeler explained. With that, this “issue”—at least until their next matchup—should no longer be of any real interest to anyone starting next week.