'Do what they want' - Furious manager's Arsenal outburst echoes Leeds United frustration after Sunderland abomination
Leeds United are not the only Premier League team to fall victim to dark arts during this midweek round of fixtures.
Goalkeeper injuries - or the lack of - have been a regular point of frustration for Leeds United this season and now one rival boss has railed against the growing popularity of dark arts in the Premier League.
Leeds were unable to find an answer for what Daniel Farke labelled ‘smart game management’ by Sunderland on Tuesday, falling to a 1-0 defeat at Elland Road. Frustration inside the stadium grew as it became clear the injury-hit visitors hadn’t come to play much football, instead using every opportunity to disrupt the game’s flow.
Black Cats debutant goalkeeper Melker Ellborg went down just 18 minutes into Tuesday’s game and with play stopped, his teammates immediately gathered round head coach Regis Le Bris. Elland Road made their feelings clear but referee Stuart Attwell was powerless to do anything about it.
Sunderland are not alone. Such tactics are becoming increasingly common throughout a league often labelled the world’s best for entertainment and are being championed by both potential champions. Leeds were once again the victims when Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma went down back in November shortly after his side conceded, with Pep Guardiola readying a teamtalk instantly.
During Wednesday’s 1-0 win at Brighton, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya hit the deck three times, one of 59 delays the away side trudged through. In total, 30 minutes and 51 seconds of the game were lost waiting for the Gunners to restart play according to Opta - much to the frustration of Hurzeler.
“I ask you one question. Did you see in a Premier League game a goalkeeper going down three times?” the Brighton boss asked after full-time. “You can’t control these kinds of things … if the Premier League, if the referee, allows everything, then it’s difficult. Then, they make their own rules.
“At the moment, I have the feeling they [Arsenal] are doing their own rules, no matter how they are playing. I will never be that kind of manager who tries to win in that way... the limit has to be set by the referees. At the moment, they just do what they want.”
Leeds United vs Sunderland stats paint damning Premier League picture
The typically level-headed Farke opted against such a response in the aftermath of Tuesday’s defeat, labelling Sunderland ‘smart’ and instead focusing on his side’s lack of clarity in the final third. That was the main issue at Elland Road. A first-half goal would have opened things up but that never came.
But for the paying fan - and fans pay an awful lot these days, be it for tickets or TV subscriptions - Tuesday’s game was an abomination. According to the ever-reliable @LUFCDATA on X, only 50 minutes and 49 seconds were played at Elland Road during a game in which there was a total of 106 minutes and nine seconds allocated - a ball-in-play percentage of just under 48%.
Of the 16 minutes and nine seconds added between either half, the ball was in play for just eight minutes and 56 seconds. Sunderland’s stoppages totalled 31 minutes and 17 seconds, compared to 23 minutes and 14 seconds for Leeds.
Sunderland will see that as a job well done, and so they should. The Black Cats hadn’t won away from home in the Premier League since October and were missing several key players through injury. Arsenal will feel the same after Wednesday’s win at Brighton sent them seven points clear of Manchester City.
The fault is not with those exploiting loopholes to their own benefit, it is with the loopholes themselves and those looking to close them. Leeds will no doubt fall victim to the same frustrations before this season is out and Farke will almost certainly remain level-headed. But something has to change.