Piero Hincapie wants Arsenal to keep pushing the limits after Fabian Hurzeler complaints | OneFootball

Gunners defender was moaned at by the Brighton boss for time-wasting

Piero Hincapie has urged Arsenal to keep fighting "to the limits of what is allowed" in response to his clash with Fabian Hurzeler.

The Brighton boss was left furious a week ago with what he perceived to be excessive time-wasting from Arsenal during their 1-0 win over the Seagulls.

Hurzeler complained to the fourth official throughout the match and at one stage confronted Hincapie when handing him a ball for a throw-in.

He told Hincapie to "f****** play football", as the defender responded by laughing and putting a finger to his mouth to tell Hurzeler to be quiet.

"I don't hold that against him at all," Hincapie told BILD. "In the heat of the game, differences of opinion are bound to arise.

"The most important thing for me is that we are successful and don't do anything illegal. You can't always win beautifully. Every now and then, you have to be smart and fight to the limits of what is allowed. You have to have balls.

"In the double season [when Hincapie was at Bayer Leverkusen], not all of our games were great to watch, but we won them."

Shush: Piero Hincapie responding to Fabian Hurzeler

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Hincapie is expected to be involved on Wednesday night when Arsenal take on his former club Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.

The 24-year-old was at Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso in the 2023-24 season when the club went unbeaten on their way to the Bundesliga title.

Hincapie is therefore one of those in the Arsenal squad with experience of getting over the line in a title race and he is keen to use that experience to strengthen Arsenal in the run-in.

"The most important thing is already in place at Arsenal: after such a long time without any major trophies, everyone here is hungry for titles," Hincapie said.

"So we're all really pulling in the same direction, and the coaching team's plans are working out really well so far. We need to keep it that way until the very last second, then we'll have something to celebrate at the end of the season.

"I've been through this before and now I want to help my new team by using and passing on my experience."

Arsenal remain in the hunt for all four trophies heading into the final couple of months of the season.

The Premier League and Champions League are the two competitions that will determine whether it is a successful season for the club and Hincapie is eyeing those biggest prizes.

"I want to win all the titles," he said.

"But there is still a long way to go, the competition is strong, and you always need a bit of luck. But we definitely want a major title, no matter what."