‘Only one team tried to play football’: Brighton boss fires shots at Arteta’s Arsenal in narrow defeat

Last Updated on 4 March 2026

Arsenal may be marching toward the Premier League title, but not everyone is impressed with how they’re doing it.

After the Gunners edged past Brighton, Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler reignited the growing debate around Mikel Arteta’s tactics, suggesting Arsenal’s approach had more to do with killing the game than playing it.

For critics, it’s the latest example of a team that wins efficiently but often leaves neutrals wondering where the football actually went.

Fabian Hurzeler does not hold back in his critique of Mikel Arteta’s style of play

Fabian Hurzeler fired shots at Arteta after Brighton’s narrow defeat to Arsenal, delivering a pointed critique that has quickly fueled another round of debate about the Gunners’ style of play.

“There was only one team who tried to play football today. Think statistics never lie. We conceded one shot on goal. We weren’t that effective. In the final third we should have created more chances.”

His frustration appeared to center on Arsenal’s repeated game management tactics: delays during set pieces, players taking their time over restarts, and strategic pauses designed to drain the rhythm out of Brighton’s attacking phases.

While these methods are perfectly legal, and undeniably effective, they’ve increasingly become a defining feature of Arteta’s Arsenal. To supporters, it’s smart game management. To critics like Hurzeler, it’s a calculated way of suffocating the spectacle.

“In the end, it is about the rules. If the referee allows everything, at the moment they are doing their own rules. I ask one question. Did you see a Premier League game, a goalkeeper going down three times.”

Arsenal’s pragmatism isn’t all bad: Gunners open up a seven point gap at the top

The irony of the criticism is that Arsenal are winning. In fact, they’re winning consistently enough to sit comfortably at the top of the table. After their narrow win at the Amex and with Manchester City dropping points at home to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal are cruising.

They move seven points clear at the summit but with a game in hand. Many disagree but Arteta’s side have developed a reputation for clinical control. They dominate set pieces, slow games when ahead, and squeeze opponents out of rhythm whenever possible.

And, as Arsenal edge closer to silverware, the debate around their style continues to grow louder. For some, it’s the hallmark of champions learning how to grind out results.

For others, like Hurzeler, it raises an uncomfortable question: if winning means draining the life out of a game, is the price of success simply boring everyone else to death? Ultimately, Hurzeler is spot on. “If they win the Premier League, no one will ask how they won it.”