S Poddar
Mikel Arteta struggled to contain his anger as Arsenal’s winning start to the season was ended by a controversial red card given to Declan Rice in their Premier League match against Brighton and Hove Albion. The Gunners were sauntering their way towards another win when Bukayo Saka pounced on a mistake by Lewis Dunk to present Kai Havertz with the opening goal. The second half, though, began very differently.
The midfielder, who had never been sent off in his professional career, received a second yellow card for what referee Chris Kavanagh deemed to be an obstruction of Joël Veltman as the Brighton player attempted to take a quick free-kick. The dismissal, which leaves Rice unavailable for Arsenal’s crucial north London derby against Tottenham following the international break, completely flipped the momentum in Brighton’s favor.
Arteta was clearly incensed, especially given that Kavanagh had not penalized Veltman for initiating contact with Rice. To add salt to his wound, Arteta pointed out an earlier incident where Brighton’s João Pedro kicked the ball away without repercussions.
“I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be,” fumed Arteta in his post-match interview. So there are two incidents and nothing in the first half. Now the ball hits Declan in a non-critical area, turns around, doesn’t see the player coming, and touches the ball. Lawwise, he can make that call, but then he needs by law to make the next call, which is a red card so we play 10 v 10. This was what amazed me. At this level, it’s amazing.”
I think you could see that on my face,” Declan Rice began as he tried to explain in dismay. “But these are the laws of the game. If you touch the ball even a little bit, it’s a red card after my challenge in the first half. It was tough; it was harsh, but I have to move on from it,” Rice said after the match.
The decision proved costly as João Pedro later scored the equalizer, preserving Brighton’s unbeaten start under their new coach Fabian Hürzeler. The 31-year-old manager, who succeeded Roberto De Zerbi over the summer, did, however, back up the decision of the referee: “For me, it was a clear red card. He shoots the ball away – it’s wasting time.”
Still, Arsenal could have won it, with Havertz and Saka spurning late chances, and the draw now means Arteta’s side face the daunting trip to Tottenham without Rice or their new signing Mikel Merino, who injured his shoulder during his first training session this week.
“That’s what happens. We have to adapt to that context,” reflected Arteta. “That’s why we have other players who can step in and give someone else a chance. But the team reacted well to the situation, playing at home with 10 men. We didn’t want to be so deep, defending like this, but we read the game, played the game we had to play, and we should have been rewarded.”
It was an act of frustration, and now Arsenal are without two key players going into the derby.
