Arsenal dropped their first points of the season after drawing 1-1 with Brighton and Hove Albion in Saturday’s early Premier League game.
Mikel Arteta’s side dominated the first half and deservedly took the lead shortly before half-time — Kai Havertz with a delightful lobbed finish over Bart Verbruggen.
But the second half began with a controversial-but-explainable red card for Declan Rice, after the midfielder picked up a second booking for kicking the ball away an instant before being kicked himself.
10 minutes later Brighton were level via Joao Pedro, and though both teams had chances to score a second goal, neither side was able to take them.
Art de Roche breaks down the key talking points from Saturday’s game at the Emirates.
Why was Declan Rice sent off?
The game turned on its head with a moment of madness at the start of the second half.
Here, as Veltman prepares to take a quick free-kick (albeit with the ball rolling, so it would not have been a legal kick) Rice knocks it aside.
That ball movement meant that by the time Veltman kicked where he thought it would be, he clattered into Rice instead.
Rice’s was just a slight touch, but referee Chris Kavanagh’s decision followed the letter of the law. It’s understandably rare for a player to be kicked in the air and then get sent off, but Rice’s decision to knock the ball away when already on a yellow card was a risky one.
Even so, that feeling of frustration around the decision will remain, especially as Joao Pedro was not booked for blatantly kicking the ball down the touchline in the first half.
There is also the fact that second yellow cards cannot be appealed, unlike straight reds.
They will now be without both Rice and injured new signing Mikel Merino for their trip to Tottenham Hotspur in two weeks time, which will provide Mikel Arteta with the sort of midfield selection dilemma this summer was supposed to fix.
Has Bukayo Saka added a footballing arrogance to his armoury?
Bukayo Saka embodies a consistent efficiency that has propelled Arsenal to great heights in recent seasons.
Despite playing in all of England’s matches at the European Championships he hasn’t slowed down, as he matched a 20-year-old record set by Thierry Henry with his assist for Kai Havertz. It made him just the second Arsenal player after Henry to assist a goal in each of their first three Premier League appearances of a season, with Saka also creating goals against Wolves and Aston Villa.
But however consistent Saka invariably is, these three games have also shown a new, very welcome, side to the winger. He has been carrying himself with more footballing arrogance, which he showed with his shrug celebration against Wolves and a shush of the Villa fans who were booing him last week.
(Benjamin Cremel/AFP via Getty Images)
It’s rare to see the 22-year-old show this in play, but he did with how direct he was against Jake Hinshelwood early in the game. Running straight at the 19-year-old and turning him inside-out, Saka imposed himself on the game in every sense of the word.
Saka even produced his assist after beating Lewis Dunk in an aerial duel — another indication of how how he is continuing to grow as a footballer.
Two crucial points dropped in the title race already?
The last two seasons have shown that every match counts in a title race. If it was the second half of the 2022-23 campaign that cost Arsenal then it was the first half of the last season that hamstrung Arteta’s side’s bid for glory.
The tension that was felt in the second half of this game may not be usual for August, but it is those experiences of coming close to the Premier League title that make that feeling valid. Last term, it was dropping points to Fulham in a 2-2 home draw at the end of August, and this time it is a 1-1 draw with Brighton.
As the clock edged near to full-time it became clear that Arsenal were looking to avoid defeat rather than chasing the win. Whether that was when Saka was the only player attempting to drive forward with the ball or David Raya allowing the seconds to pass by while the home crowd urged him to play, it all built on the frustration that came from Rice’s red card.
With so much awareness on the ‘small margins’ needed to usurp Manchester City in a title race, this sideways step is a gut-punch Arsenal did not need ahead of a month in which they play away to Spurs, Atalanta and Manchester City.
(Benjamin Cremel/AFP via Getty Images)
What did Mikel Arteta say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Arsenal?
Sunday, September 15: Tottenham Hotspur (A), Premier League, 2pm BST, 9am ET
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(Header Photo: Getty Images)
