Gabriel hits back at Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler over Arsenal accusations

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler took aim at Arsenal during both his pre-match and post-match press conferences either side of his team’s 1-0 defeat the Gunners on Wednesday night

Gabriel Magalhaes insists Arsenal do not care about Fabian Hurzeler’s fiery time-wasting accusations.

The Brighton boss hit out at the Gunners during his pre-match press conference by claiming Mikel Arteta’s title challengers persistently delay restarts from both corners and throw-ins.

Hurzeler, his players and the home crowd were onto referee Chris Kavanagh about the number of stoppages during the midweek defeat at the Amex.

The German tactician later blasted Arsenal during his post-match press conference, claiming “only one team tried to play football.”

Now Gabriel has hit back, telling ESPN Brasil during a flash interview: “We don’t really care about what he says. That is for the referee to decide on the pitch. If he wants to give a yellow card or not, he decides the time we take. We just have to do things the way we are doing and keep going.”

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Arsenal have now crafted a seven-point lead at the top of the table after Manchester City twice blew leads to draw at home against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.

While Gabriel admits the result was a major boost for the Gunners in their quest to end the club’s 22-year wait for glory, he has urged his team-mates to keep both feet firmly on the ground.

The Brazil international added: “We have to concentrate on ourselves and keep going the way we are. Now it’s three wins in a row, and of course we have to keep winning. That’s the most important thing.”

Also speaking after the game, Arteta’s man of the moment Bukayo Saka declared Arsenal are not going to take any notice of their critics during the run-in.

He said after scoring on his 300th outing for his boyhood club: “We don’t listen to that stuff. I don’t see it, I don’t read it. It is not beneficial in any way.

“We just want to continue going our way, winning. People will say whatever they want to see, whether we play the most beautiful football or if we score from a set-piece, they will still talk. For us, we just want to win games and we are now getting closer to the end of the season.”

The Premier League leaders travel to League One outfit Mansfield Town on Saturday lunchtime looking to book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Arsenal then travel to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday evening before hosting Everton in the top-flight next weekend.

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