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Mikel Arteta was “amazed” by the decision of Chris Kavanagh to show Declan Rice the first red card of his career and insisted it changed the game after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton.
Arsenal looked on course for all three points when Kai Havertz put them ahead in the 38th minute, but Rice received his marching orders 11 minutes later.
Referee Kavanagh showed Rice a second yellow card after the England international subtly kicked away the ball from a Brighton free-kick by the corner flag to delay the restart.
No caution was given to Joel Veltman, who caught Rice in his follow through, and Arsenal failed to hold on with 10-men as Joao Pedro equalised with 58 minutes played and it ended 1-1 in front of a fired up Emirates Stadium crowd.
Arteta bemoaned Kavanagh’s decision and appeared to suggest Pedro, who was later cautioned, should have been given a yellow card in the 18th minute when he kicked the ball away after it had gone out for a throw.
“I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be,” Arteta reflected.
“In the first half, there are two incidents and nothing happens. Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan, he turns around, he doesn’t see the player coming and he touches the ball.
“By law, he can make that call, but then by law he needs to make the next call, which is red card so we play 10 vs 10. This is what amazed me. At this level it’s amazing.”
It had been a dramatic 24 hours for Arsenal with the season-long loan signing of Raheem Sterling only confirmed at 1.45am on Saturday, while three other previous key performers departed on the final day of the summer window.
Sterling watched new club team-mate Bukayo Saka start in menacing fashion, but the hosts did not take the lead until seven minutes before half-time.
Lewis Dunk was at fault for Arsenal’s opener when he was brushed off the ball too easily by Saka, who laid into the path of Havertz to lob home.
Rice received a caution before half-time when he hacked down Veltman and it would cost him when the pair clashed again in the 49th minute.
After Brighton won a free-kick, Veltman kicked the ball forward and it hit Rice before he tried to take it quickly but the Arsenal midfielder subtly kicked the ball away and was subsequently caught by the Dutch defender.
Even though Arsenal fans called for a red card for Veltman, Rice was sent off and Brighton levelled nine minutes later.
A superb defence-splitting pass by Dunk sent Yankuba Minteh away and while David Raya thwarted him, Pedro fired home to equalise.
Substitutes Yasin Ayari and Georginio Rutter both went close for Brighton, but Arsenal could have claimed all three points only for Havertz to be denied a superb individual goal by the legs of Bart Verbruggen in the 74th minute.
Havertz then turned provider for Saka, but his weak effort was easy for the Seagulls stopper and it finished 1-1.
Arteta continued: “A very emotional afternoon. The referee makes a decision that changes the course of the game.
“And still like this with 10 men, the team reacts unbelievably well, the stadium reacts unbelievably well and probably we should have won the game.”
Fabian Hurzeler, 31, continued his unbeaten start to life as Brighton boss and rejected claims Pedro could have been booked in the first half.
“For me, clear red card. He shoots the ball away. It is wasting time,” Hurzeler said.
“You can’t compare I think these two situations. The first with Joel, it is clear. It is a free kick so it is a static situation.
“The other is much more like a dynamic situation. It was not even clear out (of play), so he tried to keep the ball in the game. Please, never compare these two situations because in football two situations never are the same.”
