REVEALED: Why Mikel Arteta shouting at referee Chris Kavanagh before Arsenal red card in baffling incident – this is so uncalled for
Arsenal dropped their first points of the season in maddening fashion despite having the best chances and going down to 10 men. Chris Kavanagh will be at the centre of the talking points following the draw to a spirited Seagulls side.
Kai Havertz gave the Gunners the lead, latching onto a flicked pass by Bukayo Saka – the German then chipped the ball over Bart Verbruggen. However, a Declan Rice red card that baffled those with the benefit of replays allowed Joao Pedro the chance with the Seagulls’ resurgence to level the scores.
The clash was televised on TNT Sports for the lunchtime kick-off but there are always little treats missed by the cameras. Thankfully, football.london was in attendance to spot everything from inside the Emirates Stadium.
Goalkeeper coaching
It is always an interesting period before the match kicks off to see anything that occurs during the warm-ups and spot things that are never televised. One of the last drills which the team does is a build-up and shooting practice against the substitute and third-choice goalkeepers.
With Aaron Ramsdale and Karl Hein having left and Neto not yet registered, Tommy Setford was named on the Arsenal bench for the game. The third choice was fellow youth keeper Alexei Rojas.
Inaki Cana, the Arsenal goalkeeping coach was standing to the side of the goal while the starters lined up in formation to practice moves and the keepers would rotate in and out of the net. Every time one would rotate out, Cana would immediately provide feedback to them so that the next time they went back in they were better prepared and learning – a characteristic of the coaching at the club which clearly is sustained from a training day to matches and even the warm-ups.
Arteta shouts at White
Arsenal were dominant in the opening stages of the game and had a number of chances that they failed to take. Bukayo Saka was looking dangerous and as has become a trend, the majority of the threat was indeed down the England international’s side.
Ben White has of course become a big part of building that attack and will make key runs and attempt incisive passes throughout the build-up. These runs are either found or used by Saka and Martin Odegaard as dummies to open up gaps in the opposition’s defence.
Nearing the break, however, White was getting caught high up the field and Arteta was getting noticeably anxious. It reached a point where Arteta could be heard shouting down the pitch to White, gesturing to get back into his right-back position to help William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as they faced growing pressure from the aggressive Brighton forward line.
Arteta and Kavanagh
Declan Rice was sent off at the start of the second half for a second yellow after nudging the ball away from Joel Veltman. Everyone in the stadium was perplexed at the decision of Chris Kavanagh to send the midfielder off.
However, in the first half, Mikel Arteta was left irate as Joao Pedro clearly kicked a ball away and received no punishment whatsoever. The Arsenal manager, arms aloft, was left shouting across the pitch to Kavanagh and the fourth official to his right.
Looking back with hindsight, the inconsistency is glaring.
