Mikel Arteta expressed his "amazement" at Declan Rice's red card in Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday, calling for more consistent officiating. Rice was dismissed in the 50th minute when referee Chris Kavanagh showed him a second yellow card for "delaying the restart" after he nudged the ball away from Joël Veltman as he prepared to take a free kick, which led to a confrontation between the two players.
Joël Veltman kicked Declan Rice instead of the ball, and Arteta argued that Veltman should have been penalized, while also pointing out that Joao Pedro avoided a booking for kicking the ball away in the first half.
"I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed by how inconsistent the decisions can be," Arteta said. "In the first half, there were two incidents where nothing happened. Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan on the back of his leg. He turns around, doesn't see the player coming, and touches the ball. By law, the referee can make that call, but by the same law, he should have made the next call, which would be a red card, so we play 10 against 10. That's what amazed me. At this level, it's unbelievable."
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler contested Arteta's comparison between Rice's dismissal and Pedro's incident. "You can't compare these two situations," Hürzeler said. "One is a free kick, a static situation, while the other is dynamic. It wasn't even clearly out. Situations are never the same, so you can't compare them."
Meanwhile, Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka echoed his manager's call for greater consistency in officiating.
"I felt it was a bit harsh on us," he told TNT Sports. "We’re just looking for consistency. Joao Pedro kicked the ball halfway across the pitch in the first half and got away with it, while Declan got sent off for the slightest touch."
Arsenal took the lead seven minutes before halftime when Saka's clever play set up Kai Havertz, who calmly lifted the ball over Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen for a superb finish.
Brighton capitalized on their numerical advantage to equalize in the 58th minute, with Joao Pedro scoring from the rebound after David Raya had saved Yankuba Minteh's initial shot.
Despite late chances from Saka and Havertz to secure the win, Arsenal dropped points for the first time this Premier League season.
"We showed a lot of discipline," Arteta said. "We adapted to playing with 10 men at home. We didn’t want to defend so deeply, but we adjusted our game plan and played accordingly. We should have been rewarded for our efforts."
"By the letter of the law, the referee could make that call, but then, according to the same law, he should have issued a red card, resulting in a 10 vs. 10 game. That’s what stunned me. At this level, it's astonishing."
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler disagreed with Arteta's comparison of Rice’s red card to Pedro’s incident.
"You can’t compare these two situations," Hürzeler said. "One was a free kick, a static situation, while the other was dynamic and not even clearly out. Situations are never identical, so comparisons aren't valid."
Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka, however, echoed his manager's call for more consistent officiating.
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