Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice will miss the upcoming North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur after receiving a controversial red card during the match against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Rice was sent off in the second half after picking up two yellow cards, the second of which sparked considerable debate. The incident occurred when Rice, tussling with Brighton defender Joel Veltman, nudged the ball slightly as Veltman prepared to take a free kick. Veltman ended up missing the ball and accidentally kicking Rice instead.
Declan Rice sent off for interfering with play
Referee Chris Kavanagh then issued Rice his second yellow card, deeming the action to be deliberate interference with the play. The decision appeared particularly harsh given that Brighton’s Joao Pedro had gone unpunished in the first half for kicking the ball across the pitch after it had gone out of play.
At the time of Rice’s dismissal, Arsenal were leading 1-0 thanks to a brilliant lob by Kai Havertz in the first half. Despite being down to ten men for nearly the entire second half, the Gunners managed to secure a 1-1 draw, with Pedro scoring Brighton’s equaliser.
Mikel Arteta unhappy with referee’s inconsistency
Mikel Arteta was understandably unhappy at the end of the game. Speaking in the post-game press conference, the manager stated:
“I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be. In the first half, there were two incidents and nothing happened. Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan, he turns around, doesn’t see the player coming and touches the ball. By law, he can make that call, but by law then he needs to make the next call which is a red card. So we play 10 against 11. This amazed me, at this level.”
Arsenal’s next match against Tottenham will take place in two weeks at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, following an international break. With Mikel Merino also sidelined due to injury, Arteta is likely to deploy Jorginho in midfield.
