Arsenal fans scream for consistency after Rice red as Arteta’s bus wobbles through Brighton test

Arsenal played not to lose from a winning position following a controversial – but ultimately fair – red card for Declan Rice against Brighton.

Declan Rice was given a first-half yellow card for a late lunge on Joel Veltman. No argument. Five minutes into the second half, Rice received a yellow for kicking the ball away as Veltman tried to take a free-kick. When you put it like that, again, there is no argument.

The controversy comes when you consider that Joao Pedro booted the ball 30 yards away after giving away a throw-in, which went unpunished by Chris Kavanagh. Consistency is again non-existent .

Arsenal fans feel aggrieved with Rice now suspended for the North London Derby that will come after the international break. And if there is a Premier League fan base that are world class at feeling aggrieved, it is the Emirates faithful. When they lose the league title to Manchester City by one point, we will hear all about the red card on matchday three.

Kavanagh’s decision was more significant than it needed to be, with Arsenal deciding it was a case of damage limitation when down to 10 men, not a case of keeping doing what they were doing. It was a somewhat understandable approach given the threat of Brighton but still quite frustrating to watch.

Leandro Trossard was not allowed to be the hero against his old club as Mikel Arteta brought him off for Riccardo Calafiori. The Spanish manager changed the shape with Kai Havertz leading the line, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka in centre-midfield, with five defenders trying to keep the Seagulls at bay following Joao Pedro’s equaliser 10 minutes after Rice’s dismissal.

The 10 minutes between the sending off and the Calafiori change were hectic and disorganised from Arsenal. The Italian’s arrival brought a little bit of calm but it was still a franctic last half-hour at the Emirates, with both sides trading blows and missing big chances. Havertz should have made it 2-1 when one on one with Bart Verbruggen but the Brighton goalkeeper made a world-class save with his foot before keeping out Bukayo Saka from close range.

Brighton would miss a colossal chance of their own when Yasin Ayari had the goal at his mercy with David Raya on his arse. The decision to kick the ball at the minimal part of the goal Raya had covered did not result in a goal, believe it or not.

While the red card will be debated all weekend by Arsenal fans, it was a blessing for the neutral. It sparked the match into life after a very dull opening 45 minutes full of stopping and starting.

It was a great assist from Saka and finish from Havertz to put the Gunners ahead in the 38th minute but there was some fortune involved thanks to a lost Lewis Dunk gifting Saka the opportunity to play through his team-mate.

Dunk did make amends with his role in Brighton’s equaliser, playing an immaculate ball through the middle of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba for Yankuba Minteh to latch onto. Minteh’s shot was parried by Raya straight into the path of Pedro, who slotted it under the Arsenal ‘keeper to score what was surprisingly the last goal of the match.

Arsenal, known for their stinginess in defence, were poor when down to 10 men and over-defensive. The dramatic swing in momentum wasn’t due to the man advantage, it was due to Arsenal’s shift in mentality when a man down. They parked the bus and hoped it would result in a 1-0 win. It might have worked had Calafiori come on earlier.

With the score level, Arsenal had dangerous moments on the counter, as emphasised by the aforementioned Havertz and Saka opportunities, but it was still a case of playing for what they had.

The argument the other way is that Arteta was simply playing to his side’s strengths by going extra defensive. The instant pressure just proved to be too much and it feels like the Arsenal manager made his first substitution a little too late.

Either way, the red card altered things more than it ought to have. The fact Arsenal didn’t lose just about justifies it and also means we won’t have to deal with the biggest fan meltdown of the season already. Phew.

And Brighton will actually feel they should have taken advantage and won the game. We kind of forgot to write about them here, didn’t we? Big Six bias and all that. Fabian Hurzeler looks decent and they will only get better when Ferdi Kadioglu gets into the starting XI. Exciting times.

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