BREAKING: Collins calls for Referee punishment after ‘Ridiculous’ red card in Arsenal – Brighton clash – PGMOL set to nullify Brighton goal and award Arsenal the 3 points
Arsenal and Brighton and Hove Albion went head-to-head at the Emirates in the lunchtime kick-off, with both sides desperate not to lose their unbeaten streak.
It ended all square between the two sides. It was Mikel Arteta‘s Arsenal who came out on top in the first-half through Kai Havertz’s striker, but Brighton levelled in the second-half through Joao Pedro.
There was plenty of talk regarding an Arsenal move for Ivan Toney on deadline day with a striker being eyed but he ended up securing a move to Al-Ahli.
And, Kai Havertz silenced any doubters that felt the club needed a striker with his second goal of the season in the Premier League.
There was one slightly worry for Arsenal though, as Martin Odegaard went down with an injury in the first-half but continued and should be fine, though perhaps it’s worth monitoring him.
The only option the Gunners really have is Ethan Nwaneri, and he’s highly inexperienced.
It turned out to be a rather controversial game as Chris Kavanagh had a big decision to make in the first-half…
Chris Kavanagh sends the wrong man off in Arsenal vs Brighton
It was VAR that potentially made a mistake earlier on in the game as Lewis Dunk appeared to handle the ball from a Ben White shot, which appeared to have stopped a definite goal.
BT Sport showed the game, with footage being shared on social media.
Chris Kavanagh was forced to make a big decision as Declan Rice was given his marching orders with a second yellow card after apparently kicking the ball away.
The midfielder was booked in the first-half for a challenge on Joel Veltman, and Kavanagh decided to give Rice his second yellow for what he believed was him kicking the ball away.
However, this seems extremely harsh as Rice barely touches the ball when it’s already at his feet and Veltman decides to swipe right through him with a kick.
In fact, the player who should’ve been leaving the field is wearing a Brighton shirt.
Was Declan Rice the right man to be sent off?
Listen, we’re all for referees punishing players for wasting time and being a nuisance when they really don’t need to be, but Declan Rice did very little wrong.
The ball gets kicked into his path as he’s walking away from Veltman and it’s literally the tiniest of touches from Rice, unlike many of the unpunished incidents you see of players kicking the ball much further.
If anything, Veltman should’ve been given his marching orders for kicking out at Rice. The swing path of his leg was no way near connecting with the ball, his intentions were clear to injure Rice.
Of course, there’s always going to be different interpretations but you can’t just get away with knocking two bells out of someone when the ball wasn’t even in play.
