Arsenal star Gabriel issues brutal response to Fabian Hurzeler's time-wasting accusations

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Gabriel Magalhaes made 14 clearances on Wednesday night as the Brazilian marshalled Arsenal to a crucial clean sheet in the 1-0 Premier League victory at Brighton

Gabriel Magalhaes has fired back at Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler by claiming Arsenal do not care about his explosive time-wasting accusations.

The Albion head coach criticised how long the Gunners take to restart play from both throw-ins and corners during his pre-match press conference and he did not hold back after the game either, stating: "Only one team tried to play football."

Hurzeler also accused Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya of going to ground frequently in order to run down the clock.

But Arsenal centre-back isn't bothered, telling ESPN Brasil: “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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Despite sharing his delight at news Manchester City had dropped points at home to Nottingham Forest, Gabriel insists Mikel Arteta's table-toppers must continue to focus on themselves after going seven clear at the summit.

He continued: “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."

Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has also made it clear Arsenal are going to take no notice of the critics trying to diminish their Premier League title bid.

The 24-year-old England forward said after marking his 300th Gunners appearance with the winner on the South Coast: "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."

Arteta's troops now head to Mansfield in the FA Cup fifth round before travelling to Germany to square off against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last 16.

They can move 10 points clear of Manchester City next Saturday if they beat Everton before Manchester City travel to West Ham after their Champions League tie against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.