Arsenal’s season, which began with much optimism and enthusiasm, descended into chaos and bitterness at The Emirates after referee Chris Kavanagh decided to send off Declan Rice, leaving the Gunners down to ten men four minutes into the second half of their match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Arsenal lost their first two points of the season in front of a sell-out, angry crowd in north London after Kavanagh gave Rice a second yellow card for pulling the ball away from Joel Veltman as Brighton tried to take a quick free-kick.
The home side led in the first half through a goal from Kai Havertz, but conceded an equaliser eight minutes later from Joao Pedro. Most of the match was played against a backdrop of angry chants of ‘you are not fit to referee’.
When the final whistle blew on the 1-1 draw, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta marched straight over to the officials to shake their hands and ensure none of his players got into deeper trouble by protesting the decision. Rice will now miss the north London derby against Spurs in two weeks.
Kavanagh’s decision to send off Rice, who had rightly been cautioned for a reckless foul on Veltman in the first half, may have been technically correct, but in the context of the moment it also felt like a serious error.
Joao Pedro scored the equaliser for Brighton after Declan Rice was sent off for Arsenal
Declan Rice received a bizarre red card just after half-time
Kai Havertz put Arsenal ahead by lobbing Bart Verbruggen after good work from Bukayo Saka
The ball was already rolling when Veltman attempted to take the free kick, so presumably Mr Kavanagh would have had to restart play anyway if Veltman had been allowed to kick the ball forward in the first place.
The draw was a breakthrough for Arsenal, following their unbeaten start to the season and the Deadline Day loan of Raheem Sterling from Chelsea.
The lesson of the last two seasons, in which Arsenal finished second to Manchester City in the Premier League, is that you can’t afford to make a mistake if you want to beat the blue machine from the north. This was a mistake.
Not that Brighton will be easy for many teams this season. They too had won their first two games, including a win over Manchester United, they had spent more than any other team in the summer transfer window and they were still in the game even before Mr Kavanagh’s controversial decision to sack Rice.
It took Arsenal seven minutes to create their first real chance of the game and they made it magnificent. Saka, who had already caused the Brighton defence moments of fear, played a short ball to Martin Odegaard and then headed for the return.
Odegaard lifted the ball gently over the Brighton defence towards Saka, but the England winger tamely volleyed it past Bart Verbruggen. It was a breakaway for Brighton, but they were unable to restrain Saka.
Martin Odegaard missed a good early chance for Arsenal as the Gunners started well
Arsenal eventually took the lead when Kai Havertz passed the onrushing Verbruggen
Arsenal wasted another chance ten minutes later when Ben White played a superb crossfield pass to Leandro Trossard and Trossard curled his cross into the path of Odegaard. Odegaard got on the volley from eight yards out but hesitantly fired it too close to Verbruggen.
Arsenal’s failure to convert their dominance into a lead began to undermine their play. Despite losing their most experienced player, James Milner, to injury, Brighton crept back into the game. Arsenal became sloppy in possession. Kaoru Mitoma volleyed just wide.
When Arsenal opened the scoring seven minutes before half-time, it was not the result of patient preparation but a foul kick from Jurrien Timber.
Lewis Dunk should have cleared the danger when he contested the ball with Saka as it fell from the sky, but somehow he failed to win the header and Saka clipped the loose ball into Havertz’s path. Havertz ran over and lobbed it over Verbruggen into the empty net.
Fabian Hurzeler, who spent the afternoon in a series of enthusiastic, angry and passionate tirades against the officials, was eventually shown a yellow card for an excessive contribution to a Declan Rice foul on Joel Veltman, which earned the England midfielder a yellow card. Hurzeler is apparently not from the stoic school of modern managers.
Four minutes into the second half, the game took a bizarre turn. Rice and Veltman were again tangled up at the corner flag, the referee awarded Brighton a foul and when Veltman tried to take a quick free kick, Rice pushed the ball away from him.
Veltman was determined to clear the ball and kicked Rice on his follow-through, knocking him down. The Arsenal players demanded retaliation against Veltman, but to their surprise referee Chris Kavanagh gave Rice a yellow card for delaying the free-kick and sent him off. Rice was stunned.
Rice was in fact sent off for delaying the restart of play. By the letter of the law, it was the correct decision by the referee, although Arteta would be perfectly within his rights to point to a moment in the first half when Joao Pedro kicked the ball away from the dugouts and no action was taken against him.
It was therefore ironic that it was Joao Pedro who levelled the score eight minutes after Rice’s sending-off, which had completely changed the mood of the match.
Mikel Arteta’s lost their first points of the season in front of a furious Emirates crowd
Brighton remain unbeaten under Fabian Hurzeler after coming from behind
Dunk atoned for his mistake to secure Arsenal’s goal by playing Yankuba Minteh through the middle. Minteh evaded Gabriel’s challenge and tried to drill his shot past David Raya. Raya beat the ball but it fell to Joao Pedro who curled it under his body into the net.
The Emirates were now in an uproar, the crowd roaring their contempt for the referee at every opportunity, cursing his treatment of Rice and his every move thereafter. Brighton sensed their chance and were increasingly threatening.
But with 15 minutes to go, Arsenal should have taken the lead. Havertz was played through on goal, but as he tried to slide the ball past Verbruggen, Verbruggen stretched out his left leg and blocked the shot. The ball fell to Saka, but his attempt was also blocked.
The chances now came thick and fast. Substitute Yasin Ayari saw his shot well saved by Raya’s legs as the Brighton midfielder tried to wrong-foot him and at the other end Saka raced on to cross but could only direct his sliding shot straight at Verbruggen.
Brighton desperately tried to force a winner into the six minutes of added time, but Arsenal’s ten men held out admirably. All that was left for Mr Kavanagh to do was pick up the gauntlet of angry fans as he made his way back to the tunnel.