Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has expressed his outrage and frustration over the referee's decision to send off midfielder Declan Rice during their 1-1 draw against Brighton . 
Arteta believes the referee, Chris Kavanagh, demonstrated a lack of consistency in his bookings, particularly in relation to Rice's second yellow card.
Rice was given his marching orders after delaying the restart at a Brighton free-kick and colliding with Joel Veltman's leg. However, Arteta argues that Veltman should have received a red card for his involvement in the incident. Moreover, Arteta points out that similar offences by Brighton players in the first half went unpunished, including an incident where Joao Pedro kicked the ball into the crowd.
"I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be," Arteta said in his post-match press conference. "In the first half, there are two incidents and nothing happens. 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."
Arteta emphasized that while the referee has the authority to make such calls, he must do so consistently. "By law, he [the referee] 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."
The match saw Arsenal take the lead through Kai Havertz's goal in the 38th minute, but Brighton equalized in the 58th minute through Joao Pedro's strike. The sending off of Rice in the 49th minute forced Arsenal to play with 10 men for the majority of the second half.
When asked if he has spoken to Rice about the incident, Arteta replied, "Yeah. He obviously had a reaction that his back was to the ball, that they're not in the middle of the park, trying to counter or anything. 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."
Arsenal's next match is against Tottenham Hotspur on September 15, 2024, at 14:00.
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