Declan Rice admitted he was “shocked” by the decision to send him off in Arsenal’s draw with Brighton.
The Gunners dropped their first points of the season after it finished 1-1 at the Emirates Stadium, as the match turned shortly after half-time when Rice was dismissed.
Having already been booked for a late first-half challenge, the Arsenal midfielder was shown a second yellow after a controversial incident, one that left Mikel Arteta “amazed”.
Joel Veltman, having been fouled by Rice, rolled the ball against him, and the Englishman flicked it away as the Brighton defender then kicked through him as though he was about to take a quick free-kick.
The Arsenal players, and the fans in the stands, called for Veltman to be sent off, but it was Rice who was dismissed, as referee Chris Kavanagh deemed he was delaying a restart.
“I was shocked, I think you could see in my face I was shocked,” Rice said of the decision.
Declan Rice can't believe it as he's sent off for kicking the ball away 😳
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“He’s obviously gone over… I’ve not sprinted back in front of him and smashed the ball away. I’ve touched the ball with the outside of my foot, look, this is the law of the game.
“If you touch the ball away, even a little bit, obviously it’s a red card, after my challenge in the first half (which I fully accept was a 50-50 that I didn’t win). But the second-half one, especially with it being in the corner flag, they can’t really progress anywhere from there.
“It was tough, it was harsh, but it’s one of those things.”
Arsenal had at that point been in the lead through Kai Havertz’s first-half finish, but in the end had to battle to just earn a point, after Joao Pedro equalised ten minutes after the red card.
That left the Seagulls with half an hour to find a winner, though the Gunners had chances themselves to restore their lead, with Havertz having an effort saved and Bukayo Saka twice going close.
It was a frustrating afternoon for Arsenal heading into the international break, after which they travel to Tottenham and Manchester City in the space of a week, either side of a Champions League trip to face Atalanta.
“I think from my behalf, that’s my first sending-off in my career, so I just wanted to apologise obviously to my team-mates, which I’ve done, and to the fans,” Rice said.
“When you get sent off, it’s never nice, you get a sense of guilt over you, and I was lucky today that my team-mates really helped me out and we didn’t lose the game.
“I’ll learn from it, I really appreciate the fans’ support as always – it’s not in my nature really to get red cards, so I’ll learn from it, I’ll see where I can be better, and I’ll be back for sure.”
