Maresca backs Sunderland to have beaten Arsenal as Hurzeler revives time-wasting feud

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has cast doubt on Arsenal’s unbeaten Premier League start by insisting Sunderland were unfortunate to lose 2-0 to the Gunners last weekend, while Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler has reignited his running dispute with Mikel Arteta on the eve of Saturday’s top-flight meeting at the Amex Stadium.

Maresca, whose Chelsea side sit level on four Premier League wins with Arsenal but behind them on goal difference, said he watched the Sunderland match twice before drawing his conclusion. “I watched the game live against Arsenal, then again the last two days,” he said. “If you watch, you can realise how strong they are. I think personally that they didn’t deserve to lose that game.”

Arteta acknowledged fortune played a part in the result, while also crediting the Championship side. “There is an element of luck as well because Sunderland are so good at doing that, they throw in numbers, their timing is so good,” the Arsenal manager said. “But if you give them the space to play as well, they play — they are a really, really good side, and in any other moment we could’ve conceded. That’s part of the game as well.”

The pre-match noise ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brighton has been further amplified by Hurzeler, who has stood by pointed remarks he made about Arsenal’s tactics following Brighton’s 1-0 home defeat to the Gunners last season. The German coach had claimed at the time that “only one team tried to play football” that day, and accused Arsenal of bending the rules to suit themselves.

“If they win the Premier League, no one will ask how they win the Premier League,” Hurzeler said previously. “You can really feel that they do everything now to win and, in the end, it’s about the rules. If the Premier League, if the referee, allows everything, then it’s difficult. Then, they make their own rules.”

Arteta’s side arrive at Brighton having won all six of their fixtures across all competitions this season, including a 2-0 Champions League victory over Napoli and a 4-2 Carabao Cup win over Ipswich Town. The Arsenal manager acknowledged the challenge ahead. “We’re going to have to really earn the right to win the game, but certainly that will be the mindset of the players and the team,” he said.

Saturday’s match is the final Premier League fixture for both clubs before the international break.