How Fabian Hurzeler's 'big bang' against Arsenal pushed Brighton towards Europe

For a while there, it seemed Fabian Hurzeler was banging his head against a wall.

The young German head coach was having a wretched winter run with just one win in 14 matches.

Brighton had just lost a home to old rivals Crystal Palace and the fans were against him. "You are getting sacked in the morning," and "you don't know what you are doing" sang the Albion fans.

Another defeat swiftly followed at Aston Villa and then Albion were dumped from the FA Cup with a 3-0 loss at Liverpool.

This was a grim situation and many clubs would have panicked and pulled the trigger. The Seagulls are though quite patient, chairman Tony Bloom is not one to overreact - but even Brighton have a limit and Hurzeler pushed it.

Brentford win was vital

The fixture at Brentford away on February 21 was key and I feel this was most important of Hurzeler's young career so far. It's no exaggeration to say it saved his job

Hurzeler went for experience at the Community Stadium as James Milner, Pascal Gross, Lewis Dunk and Danny Welbeck formed the spine of the team. Goals from another Hurzeler favourite, Diego Gomez, and Welbeck sealed what proved to be a season-defining win.

It gave Hurzeler breathing space, revitalised the Seagulls and another win against Nottingham Forest followed.

Problems on the pitch were being fixed but Hurzeler's relationship with the fans remained fragile - until the Arenal match.

The Arsenal big bang

Hurzeler criticised Arsenal's time-wasting ahead of their clash at the Amex Stadium and it created quite the hostile atmosphere. Arsenal duly played their part and time-wasted their way to a narrow 1-0 win. But something had shifted, the atmosphere at the Amex was different, it was pro-Hurzeler. The home fans had responded to his call... either that, or they really dislike Arsenal.

Hurzeler then doubled down on his time-wasting comments in the post match press duties. It made lively copy for the journalists, it upset Arsenal but the fans enjoyed it.

Brighton supporters seemed to like this feisty side of the German. His criticism of Arsenal created plenty of media attention as Arsenal’s tactics came under increasing scrutiny.

Hurzeler later said he created "a big bang". He publicly and privately apologised to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.

Hurzeler may not receive any pleasantries from Arteta in future, but in terms of popularity with the Brighton fanbase, this was undoubtedly a win for Hurzeler.

Hurzeler’s new contract

He has since agreed a new contract and his stock - despite recent losses at Newcastle and Leeds - is at an all-time high. He even milked applause from the North Stand as he celebrated the 3-0 win against Wolves and his new contract with the home fans.

Brighton are now seventh in the table. If they win their final match of the season against Manchester United at the Amex Stadium this Sunday they will qualify for the Europa League.

Hurzeler’s "big bang" moment arrived against Arsenal but for me, it was made in Brentford.