Is this night Arsenal’s ‘villains’ became Premier League victors?
Arsenal They are now being cast as the villains of the Premier League title race – but on this crazy night Brighton That may be what makes them prevail in the end.
The Gunners are likely to remain unpopular, unpopular champions as their sharp approach comes under increasingly disparaging scrutiny.
And there was more to come after a standout, closely contested game that ended with Bukayo Saka’s early goal; This goal saw Arsenal extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points, creating a potentially decisive advantage.
Will Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta care if these tools justify the end of a 22-year wait to win the Premier League? Not likely.
Arteta’s side have been criticized for what outside observers see as their use of the dark arts and over-reliance on set-piece expertise to maintain their position at the top of the table.
The 1-0 win at Amex Stadium was the definition of ugly. In fact, saying “ugly” is an insult to the ugly.
Their xG was just 0.01 when the half-time whistle came and the second half wasn’t much of an improvement given it took until the 88th minute for Kai Havertz to score his second effort on goal. The final result was their 10th win by a single goal this season.
It was certainly not a sight to behold for Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler, who spent almost the entire game fuming at Arsenal’s strategy and the events unfolding in front of him.
But as Gunners fans react with joy to the final whistle of this victory and Manchester City’s failure to beat Nottingham Forest, this monster of a victory could turn into something very good.
As Arsenal celebrated and City slipped away, I felt like this could be the decisive night in this tense battle to the Premier League finish line.
This isn’t a popularity contest. This is a title challenge that Arsenal are currently winning.
Hurzeler, who clearly marked what he saw as Arsenal’s waste of time before the match, did not change his mind after what he saw.
“I think there was only one team trying to play football today and so I’m proud of how they did it,” Hurzeler said.
Hurzeler added: “I will never be a manager who tries to win like this. I want to do good things. I want my players to continue to improve, to continue playing football on the field.
“In the end, of course, every team will make do and waste time, but I think there should be a limit and the limit should be set by the Premier League. The limit should be set by the referees, at that moment they do what they want.”
The Brighton boss continued: “If I were to ask everyone in the room now if they were really enjoying this game of football, I’m sure one of them would raise their arm because they’re a big Arsenal supporter, but other than that, they’re out of luck.”
Arteta defended his column and, after greeting Hurzeler’s criticism with a searing “what a surprise”, said: “If you look at previous matches you’ll always come across a lot of comments like that.
“I love my players. That’s all that matters. I love my players, we love our players and I love the way we compete.”
Responding to external criticism, Arteta responded: “I think they love our players. So whenever they talk about our players, I think they are the most loved players in the country.”
He added: “We tend our own garden.”
