An upset Mikel Arteta was left ‘amazed, amazed, amazed’ by Declan Rice’s controversial sending off which helped Brighton earn a draw against Arsenal.
In the first half, Joao Pedro — who went on to score Brighton’s equaliser — kicked the ball away, but referee Christopher Kavanagh chose not to give a yellow card.
Though after four minutes in the second period, Rice received a second yellow for nudging the ball away from Joel Veltman as he tried to take a quick free-kick.
Rice had been booked earlier in the match for a rash challenge on Veltman.
Arteta said: ‘I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be. In the first half, there are two incidents and nothing happens.
Mikel Arteta expressed his dismay with the decision to send Declan Rice off against Brighton
Referee Chris Kavanagh showed Rice a second yellow for nudging the ball away from Joel Veltman
‘Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan (on the back of his leg), he turns around, he doesn’t see the player coming and he touches the ball.
‘By law, he can make that call, but then by law he needs to make the next call, which is red card so we play 10 vs 10. This is what amazed me. At this level it’s amazing.
‘Anyway I repeat myself – by law if you want to do it you have to do it, but you have to do it in the first half and play 10 against 10. That’s it. Very simple.’
A disappointed Bukayo Saka also called for ‘consistency’.
‘We just want some consistency,’ said Saka. ‘Joao Pedro booted the ball halfway across the pitch in the first half and got nothing for it. Dec got the slightest touch and was sent off.’
Though Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler claimed the two situation are incomparable.
The Gunners boss highlighted what be believes to be 'inconsistency' in refereeing decisions
Meanwhile Fabian Hurzeler insisted that Kavanagh's decision was wholly justified
He said: ‘You can’t compare these two situations. The first with Joao is a free-kick, so it’s a static situation. (The other is) more of a dynamic situation, it was not even a clear out so we tried to keep the ball in the game.
‘(It’s) a clear red card. He (Rice) shoots the ball away, it’s wasting time.’
‘So please never compare these situations because in football two situations are never the same.’