Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta complained about the lack of consistency following Declan Rice’s sending off against Brighton, saying the refereeing officials had failed to punish Brighton players for similar infringements.
Early in the second half, Rice received a second yellow card from referee Chris Kavanagh. The Premier League later confirmed this was due to a delayed restart. Arsenal were leading 1–0 at this point, but João Pedro equalised, securing a point for the visitors.
It was the opening game. It was Rice’s first career red card, Arsenal’s first clean sheet of the season and the first time the Gunners have dropped points in the new season.
The sending off means Rice will also miss the North London derby when Arsenal return after the international break. After the match, Arteta made his feelings clear in an interview with TNT Sport, claiming that the team had not received a sufficient explanation for the red card “as usual”.
“It would be fine if that (the fine for the delayed restart) was a regular occurrence during the game, but it wasn’t. It’s an inconsistency,” Arteta said. When asked for an explanation, he replied: “Nothing, it’s business as usual.”
“We started the game really well,” he said. “We went in with a goal at 1-0. We started the second half really well but then there was a decision that completely changed the game.”
Meanwhile, Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler had no problem with the red card. “Firstly, he kicked the ball away. It’s a clear yellow card and it changes the course of the game,” he told Match of the Day
Arsenal’s winning streak has dropped by ten percentage points but no 10-man team is yet unbeaten in the league. Kai Havertz put them ahead at half-time but Joao Pedro equalised just after the hour.
Both teams still had chances to score a last-minute winner. Havertz was denied by a superb save from Bad Verbruggen and Brighton’s record signing Georginio Rutter missed a last-minute header. But after the 1-1 draw, both teams have seven points out of nine.
“At the end of the day you are more than yourself and you always want to win games,” Haseler said. “We had chances but Arsenal had two great chances too.”
The international break will give Arsenal and Brighton time to recover from fatigue. However, Rice will be suspended for one match and will miss the North London derby when the Premier League resumes. Brighton’s first game back is at home to newly promoted Ipswich on September 14.