Neal Maupay says Arsenal players “got what they deserved” after the Brighton striker scored the winner in a fraught 2-1 victory at the Amex Stadium.
Maupay revealed he was the target of repeated sniping comments following an incident in the first half in which he collided with Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
Leno’s knee buckled forcing him to be carried off on a stretcher, and as he left the field he sat up to confront Maupay, accusing the Frenchman of deliberately pushing him in the incident.
Maupay later received a light jab in the stomach by Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi as things got heated, but he said his opponents’ jibes faded away as Brighton mounted a late comeback, with Maupay himself grabbing a stoppage-time winner to earn three crucial points in their fight against the drop.
“At half-time I went to [Arsenal manager] Mikel Arteta to apologise,” said Maupay. “I never meant to injure him, I just jumped to get the ball. I’ve been through a bad injury, I know its hard, but I never meant to hurt him.
“The [Arsenal players] had been talking a lot, I think they got what they deserved [in defeat].”
Talking on BT Sport, Rio Fedinand said it was a “freak incident” for which Maupay should not take the blame, while Peter Crouch said that the striker “was in the wrong”.
Maupay added: “Honestly, until the keeper gets the ball you never know what could happen. I just wanted to get the ball. It was shoulder to shoulder, I never meant to injure him. I’m really sorry and I wish him a speedy recovery.”
The victory was Brighton’s first of a frustrating 2020 which had been peppered with draws, lifting them five points clear of danger.
“I’m so happy, because it’s our first win this new year,” Maupay said. ”I’m so happy for the team. It’s been a crazy time, it’s been really hard for us because we didn’t know when we were going to play again. But the mindset is really good, we kept together. The whole club did a very good job to put us in the best place possible.”
