Brighton boss held Arteta talks after public dispute | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta and Fabian Hurzeler appear to have made amends behind the scenes after their recent press conference dispute about Arsenal’s tactics.

Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images

Arsenal and Brighton managers Mikel Arteta and Fabian Hurzeler had a surprisingly confrontational encounter as their two teams faced off against each other in the Premier League earlier this month.

Even before the game, Hurzeler whined to the media about Arsenal’s approach to set-pieces and timewasting, and he doubled down on those comments afterwards.

“I will never be that kind of manager, who tries to win in that way,” Hurzeler said following Arsenal’s 1-0 win.

When those quotes were put to Arteta, he responded: “What a surprise. You just go back to the previous games and you will find a lot of comments like this, always.”

Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images

Yet it seems the two have made up behind the scenes since then, with Hurzeler telling the media on Friday: “I really admire seeing Mikel Arteta and his team, his players, and the staff, how they work. I will be the first one who will congratulate them if they win the Premier League.

“Some things I wasn’t happy about in that night, and I think all the numbers they give me the confirmation about what I was saying afterwards regarding timewasting. I think we just need to find clear rules about that.

“But again, and that’s very important for me and I also said it to Mikel afterwards and then during the week, that I really admire his work, I really admire what Arsenal are doing.

“Arteta’s for me one of the best managers in the world and I see him as a role model, but I think it’s still very important in life to say your opinion.”

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Arteta was then asked in his own press conference about that midweek conversation Hurzeler had referenced between the two managers, and he answered: “That’s a personal conversation.

“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.

“So I appreciate that and the rest, you know, I think he’s a fantastic coach. The job that he’s doing at Brighton is really, really good and that’s fine.”

There was a lot of emotion involved in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Brighton, particularly with Manchester City dropping points against Nottingham Forest the same day.

That may have spilled over and fueled the flames between the two managers, but with a bit of distance from the game they’re clearly ready to move on now.