Sussex

Brighton defender Olivier Boscagli feels it was a "really cruel" way for them to lose against Arsenal with the Gunners' "frustrating tactics" in the 1-0 defeat.

The Premier League leaders have come in for criticism in recent weeks for their approach in games, with onlookers believing they are employing gamesmanship tactics and being over-reliant on set-piece goals.

Tempers flared in the match at the Amex on Wednesday night and boss Fabian Hurzeler said after the match: "I think there was only one team who tried to play football today."

According to Opta, Arsenal took 30 minutes and 51 seconds to restart play against Brighton, their highest total in a Premier League match this season.

"Really cruel for us. Difficult to accept this," Boscagli told BBC Radio Sussex. "But a lot of things we can take away that we can be proud of from what we did on the pitch. This kind of team, they are good in every phase of the game, not for nothing they are first.

"It was smart from them [the way they played], but I think it was a bit too much in my opinion, but it needs to be with the referees. We can't do anything, they need to take care of net play time.

"It can be frustrating sometimes, because you know this decision goes more in their way [in this match]. But we also had occasions to score goals and we can't hide behind this.

"But, of course, it is part of the game and difficult because it is difficult to speak with them [officials], everywhere the same. We can't blame this as we had enough time to score goals, but we can also learn from this. We can learn from this team also because even when they don't play well they still win.

"There is also something to do on this from the league because it was quite big tonight, but we can't change anything."

Listen to full interview by clicking play above or on BBC Sounds

In defence of Arsenal - is criticism of Premier League leaders unfair?

We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Premier League game between Brighton and Arsenal.

Here are some of your comments:

Home team fans

Nigel: The reason Brighton lost is not Arsenals fault for the way they played, it's Brightons fault for not scoring when they had the chance! Fabian is moaning and blaming Arsenal but your players didn't score! Simple!

Chris: Toothless up front again. A familiar theme this season. Uncle Tony needs to crunch the data and sign us a goalscorer or two this summer ... please.

Fran: Played recently well tonight. Arsenal's defence kept them in the game. We dominated and they created very little, The referee and linesman were absolutely awful. Didn't seem to know what was going on around them.Completely ruined the whole game.

Graham: Brighton play some excellent football but play a team of mainly midfielders who are extremely limited in goalscoring which costs them valuable points. They need to splash out the cash for a top class striker such as Ivan Toni. They might then qualify for the Champions league.

Sam: Decent performance until the final third. Too many players not sharp enough - Mitoma needs to work on his finishing, no idea what has happened to Georginio and we do look blunt. Arsenal and the referee though, my god. Time wasting, diving, rolling on the floor and the referee allowed this to happen. Disgusting to be brutally honest. I can't believe that Arsenal, with their tactics, are going to win the league. Never left a game as angry.

Away team fans

Vince: Good result, poor performance. What ever happened to all that attractive passing football from Arteta's earlier days at the managerial helm? We bought Gyokeres to give us the Plan B option of no-nonsense, route one football but now that seems more the norm than the exception. That said, like most fans, I'll gladly accept it if we win the title. Which I suppose is why Arteta has turned this into Plan A.

Steve: It looked like we were using this game as a training session for our defense. Disappointing but 3 points works for me.

Mark: Pivotal night possibly in race for prem. With trip to Germany hope Arteta leaves almost all starting 11 at home for fa cup tie. No need for them to travel regardless of result and one of few times left in season we can take that liberty. A few days at home to recharge is massive as we look mentally tired in so many of recent games.

Gabriel: Heart was in my throat. Credit to Brighton for how they played, but we need more attacking intent. I saw nothing special in attack, and if we want to win this league, we need more from the boys up top. End of the day, 7 points clear, let's stay humble Gunners

Matthew: Arsenal showed character tonight against Brighton. Away games like this are never easy, especially against a team that plays good football and presses well. The important thing is that Arsenal managed the game well and stayed disciplined. These are the kinds of matches that win you titles — grinding out results even when it's not perfect. If Arsenal are going the league , performances like this are exactly what the team need.

Pundits Micah Richards and Danny Murphy join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from the midweek Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds