Brighton manager Hurzeler is calling for consistency and improved fitness levels after the stalemate with Arsenal

Fabian Hurzeler has called for more consistency from his Brighton players and admitted their fitness levels need to improve despite a spirited second-half display in a 1-1 home draw against title-chasing Arsenal.

Ironically, the Seagulls have been largely consistent with their recent results, drawing six of their last eight Premier League games.

But such a run has not brought a league win since the end of November. It proved to be a familiar outcome after Joao Pedro’s penalty just after the hour mark canceled out Ethan Nwaneri’s first goal at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.

Despite a strong start to the season, Brighton are now falling down the table. They are currently in tenth place.

FT: Another deserved point against Arsenal. 🤝

[1-1] 📲 #BHAARS // #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/Hvip9KAe8l

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) January 4, 2025

And Hurzeler, their youngest permanent Premier League manager at the age of 31, admits he is left frustrated after dealing with the same problems every week.

“Yes, I think it should have been more,” Hurzeler told Sky Sports after being asked if his side should have got more than a point against the Gunners.

“I stand here after games and I feel like I have to repeat myself all the time and of course it’s a disappointing feeling.

“The most important word for us is to be more consistent. You try to play with the identity you want to play for the full 90 minutes and then hopefully we get the results we expect.

“We had to invest a lot to come back [in the game]. We came back, but then we weren’t clear enough in the last third.

“We had great chances and I think against Arsenal you have to use the momentum to win the game, and we didn’t do that today.”

Room for improvement

One area of ​​improvement that the Brighton manager feels could help address the consistency issue is the fitness level of his squad.

But he understands that improving players’ physical abilities is not a quick fix and it will take time to see any real progress.

Hurzeler said: “[Fitness levels] may be one of the reasons why we cannot play consistently for 90 minutes. The game we want to play is intense, the game must be intense if you want to press high.

“You have to run a lot and at high speed. We are not where we should be, but it is a process. We needed a lot of physical strength for this match and in some moments we struggled and failed to maintain this physical level for 90 minutes.

“So we’re still working on it and using training time to improve it.”

Brighton are next in action when they travel to take on Championship side Norwich City in the FA Cup third round on January 11.