‘They definitely deserve it - Brighton manager claims he has spoken with Arteta after "Anti-Football" outburst

Following Brighton's 1-0 loss to the Gunners last Wednesday, an incensed Hürzeler claimed "only one team tried to play football" and accused Arsenal of excessive time-wasting.

The manager also mentioned he can never be the type of manager who wins in the way Arteta wins.

However, the Seagulls' boss has since clarified his post-match comments, explaining that he reached out to Arteta to express his continued respect for the work being done at the North London club.

"I love to see them playing, and I also admire a lot of elements of what they are doing," Hürzeler stated. 

"I texted him [Arteta], and I said the same thing to him as well, that I have huge respect for everyone from Arsenal, and that I will be the first one who will congratulate him when they win the Premier League."

Hürzeler stood by his emotional reaction but wanted to ensure it didn't overshadow his admiration for Arsenal's title charge. 

"If they win it, they definitely deserve it," he added. "But on the other side, there are just things that made me emotional and I’m a person who sticks to my principles... although it created a lot of noise."

During his initial tirade, Hürzeler suggested that Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya had feigned an injury to run down the clock, declaring he would "never be that kind of manager who tries to win in that way."

"I didn't want to upset anyone from Arsenal, I didn't want to upset the staff or the players, but on the other side, I will stick to my words that some things I wasn’t happy about that night," he explained.

When questioned about the text message, Mikel Arteta remained discreet about the specifics of their conversation.

"That’s a personal conversation," the Arsenal manager said. "Obviously, he’s made public now certain comments that he made before and that says, I think, a lot of positive things about him as a person. I appreciate that."

Arteta concluded by praising his counterpart, adding, "He’s a fantastic coach. The job that he’s doing at Brighton is really, really good and that’s fine."