Mikel Arteta hits back at Brighton manager after complaints following Arsenal win - 'What a surprise'

But the post-match conversation quickly shifted away from the scoreline and onto the touchline spat between the two managers.

Hurzeler had accused Arsenal of abandoning attempts to play attacking football and criticised what he believed to be persistent time-wasting.

Arteta, however, responded sharply when asked about the Brighton boss’s comments.

“What a surprise,” he said.

“You just go back to the previous games and you will find a lot of comments like this always.

“I love my players. That's the highlight. I love my players, we love our players. I love the way we compete.”

Sarcastically referencing the attention his squad receives, the Spaniard added: “I think they love our players, every time they talk about our players. They are the most loved ones in the country.”

Arteta was then pressed on whether he pays attention to the opinions of rival managers about his players and Arsenal’s approach to matches.

“Care? Depends,” he replied.

When asked if that meant depending on the manager making the comments, Arteta answered: “Yeah. And the comments. And the purpose of that.”

The tension between the two managers had already been evident during the match itself.

After Saka’s effort deflected into the net inside the opening ten minutes, Arsenal focused on protecting their slender advantage.

The visitors slowed the tempo of the game, taking their time over restarts and set-pieces as they attempted to see out the result.

Hurzeler spent much of the evening voicing his frustration to the fourth official and at one stage Arteta angrily pointed in his direction from the technical area.

Brighton struggled to break through Arsenal’s defence and the frustration continued to build as the match wore on.

Goalkeeper David Raya also went down on several occasions, allowing Arsenal’s players to gather near the touchline and receive instructions from their coaching staff.

The referee repeatedly waved his arms to urge the visitors to restart play more quickly, while seven minutes of stoppage time were eventually added at the end of the second half.

Despite Brighton’s late pressure, Arsenal held firm to secure the three points.

Hurzeler cut a frustrated figure afterwards and did not hide his disappointment with the nature of the contest.

“There was only team who tried to play football today,” he said.

“I ask one question - did you see in a Premier League game a goalkeeper going down three times? No.”

The Brighton boss insisted it was extremely difficult for his players to create any rhythm against Arsenal’s approach.

“There are different kinds of winning,” Hurzeler said.

“If they win the Premier League, no-one will ask how they win the Premier League. You can really feel that they will do everything now to win this game.

“In the end it's about the rules. If the Premier League and the referees allow everything, then it's difficult. They make their own rules. At the moment I have the feeling they are doing their own rules, no matter how they are playing.

“Overall, I will never be that kind of manager who tries to win in that way. I want to develop players, I want my players to keep improving and keep playing football on the pitch.”