Post-Brighton quotes round-up: Arteta, Hurzeler, Calafiori, Van Hecke, Wright
01/04/2025 03:48 PM
Arsenal squandered the chance to cut Liverpool’s lead to three points at the top of the table as Brighton fought back at the AMEX to secure a 1-1 draw.
Ethan Nwaneri’s fifth goal of the season gave the Gunners the perfect platform for a fourth consecutive win but a tired second-half performance was punished when referee Anthony Taylor awarded a penalty to the home side after William Saliba clashed heads with Joao Pedro. The Brazil striker converted from the spot to set up a tense finale but neither side had the necessary quality to find a winner.
Here’s what the managers, players, pundits and stattos made of the action…
Mikel Arteta on a frustrating afternoon…
First of all, I’m disappointed with the result especially when we have started the game quite well and scored a beautiful goal. And then we lacked control and gave the ball away and we didn't do the simple things well enough to be really on top of the game and have the dominance we required. The game was always open without really conceding anything.
Source:BBC Match of the Day
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Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler on the result…
When we look at Arsenal's chances, they had one [big opportunity] during the game. Of course they were always dangerous from set pieces. We did well to come back but weren't clean enough in the final third. Against Arsenal, you need to use your momentum to win the game. The game we want to play is intense, [we want to] press high. If you want to attack the box, you need to invest in deep runs. We're not where we should be, but it's a process.
Source:Sky Sports
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝟏-𝟏 𝐀𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥: 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒
A third draw in six Premier League games for Arsenal gives Liverpool the chance to extend their lead at the top on Sunday.
Check out our report and the key stats as the Gunners slip up again
theanalyst.com/2025/01/brig…
— Opta Analyst (@optaanalyst.optajoe.com) January 4, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Riccardo Calafiori on a below-par performance…
I think we felt we could have done a bit better to manage the game and [manage] the goal we scored in the first half. We should have scored another one. I don't know why we made so many stupid mistakes, but the good thing is that we play again in three days [against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup]. Maybe we were too low and gave the opponents too many balls.
Source: Sky Sports
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Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke…
Of course, Arsenal is a strong team and we should be happy with a point, but in the end we should have done more than that. It's about managing the games, it's small margins. It's also a really young team, if you look at our average age. We need to adapt, to do better, to improve. Consistency is the right word here, but we are such young players. You can't say we don't give everything, but we need to do more.
Source:premierleague.com
Ethan Nwaneri is the first player to score 5+ goals for #Arsenal in a season while aged 17 or under since John Radford in 1964-65 (8).
— Harvey Downes (@harveydownes92.bsky.social) January 4, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Arteta on Brighton’s penalty…
Bizarre. That means we have probably never seen it before. I haven’t in my career. So it is a new one.
Source: BBC Radio 5 Live
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Hurzeler on the penalty…
It was a clear penalty. It is head to head but if it is another piece of the body everybody would say it was a penalty. Joao Pedro places the ball with his head and Saliba comes to late, therefore it was a clear one.
Source:BBC Match of the Day
Ethan Nwaneri’s yellow card was Arsenal’s ninth for time wasting this season in the Premier League.
That’s more than any other team in the competition.
— Opta Analyst (@optaanalyst.optajoe.com) January 4, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Ian Wright with a positive spin on the result…
The main thing is you’ve got to win your home games and make sure you don’t lose away from home. The fact is it’s a point on the road and you have to take it. You have to keep putting pressure on Liverpool, you can’t be losing in this situation.
Source:premierleague.com
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Matthew Upson on what Arsenal lacked…
Arsenal were very good in patches. But it felt like they needed to do a bit more to see this game through. It never happened in the second half.
Source:BBC Radio 5 Live
Ethan Nwaneri:
the 6th player to score multiple Premier League goals before turning 18 after Wayne Rooney (7), Michael Owen (5), Danny Cadamarteri (3), James Milner (3) and Federico Macheda (2)
the 1st player to score more than one PL goal for Arsenal before turning 18
— Opta Analyst (@optaanalyst.optajoe.com) January 4, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Arteta on Havertz and Odegaard being ill…
Kai tried but he was very honest and said ‘I cannot even travel, I’m not feeling good at all’. We tried yesterday to see if he could train, he tried his best and wasn’t able to do that. Martin, he didn’t train [yesterday], he said ‘let me don’t train and see how I feel tomorrow’ and he did his best to be here because we know the numbers we have.
Source:Post-game press conference
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Arteta on Arsenal’s defensive solidity…
That shows the attitude, the commitment of the defensive habits and how we apply them. I was phenomenal again – it wasn't enough to win it and with the ball today, we lacked something, I understand, because we miss very important players that are key in our fluidity – it's disappointing because we need to win the games.
Source:Arsenal.com
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