Arsenal ace Declan Rice got sent off for the first time in his professional career on Saturday’s clash against Brighton & Hove Albion. The Gunners got their lead in the first half by a smooth finish from Kai Havertz. But in the second half Brighton came back strong to put up the fight in Emirates.
Rice was sent off just after the start of the second half. Later in the 58th minute Joao Pedro’s tap-in goal resulted to a draw at the end.
Match referee Chris Kavanagh booked Rice for a questionable offense, resulting in a second yellow card and his departure from the game, leaving the whole Emirates Stadium puzzled.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta didn’t hang back to express his anger in the post match conference.
He said, “I was amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be.”
Rice’s absence in the pitch helped Brighton forwards to attack with more confidence and they did their job.
The Gunners lost 2 vital points in a home game before the international break. Dropping points at this stage could create a bigger problem for Arsenal’s title dream.
Was it a red? Ex-PGMOL chief gives his opinion
Rice received his first booking for a late foul on Joel Veltman in the first half.
Few minutes later in the second half, Rice committed a foul against Veltman, resulting in a free-kick for Brighton near the throw line of their D-box.
As the midfielder was walking away from the scene, Veltman kicked the ball to Rice’s way which seemed to hit the legs of the Englishman. Veltman then kicked Rice from behind as the Dutchman was asking for a foul against Rice for nudging the ball away.
Match referee Chris Kavanagh didn’t hesitate to pull out the second yellow for Rice’s offence.
The decision confused the Arsenal crowd and management as it didn’t seem like a chargeable offence.
Ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett was displeased with the quick decision made by Kavanagh. He believed that the decision should have been reviewed by VAR for a longer period.
Hackett claimed that Joao Pedro also did a similar thing in the first half. But he didn’t receive a yellow for it.
He raised a question on Linkedin by saying,
“Did the referee enforce and allow the player time to be the appropriate 10 yards from the ball at the taking of the restart? Was the ball static at the time Rice made contact?”
However, Hackett’s statement cannot please Arsenal at this point. The Gunners have already dropped points and they will be missing Declan Rice for the next game after the International break is over.
Arsenal’s next challenge
Matchday three is over as Manchester City and Liverpool are topping the table. They both have 9 points each. On the other hand Arsenal are currently at the 4th place after the draw against Brighton.
After the International break the Gunners will be playing against Tottenham Hotspur away from home.
The absence of Declan Rice can cause a problem for them as the Spurs will be desperate for a win after their loss against New Castle United on Sunday.
Arsenal will also face Atalanta in the Champions League and Man City in the Premier League this month. New signing Mikel Merino is already out for 2-3 months due to a shoulder injury in his first training season. Arsenal’s injury list keeps extending as Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jakub Kiwior are already out of the squad lists.
So it will be a difficult month for the Gunners as there are very less reinforcements available in their midfield. Experienced midfielder Jorginho is very likely to start against the Spurs on 15th September replacing the suspended Rice.
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