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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was critical of the refereeing in their draw against Brighton.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has blamed refereeing inconsistency for the 1-1 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Gunners were held to draw by Fabian Hurzeler's side. Arteta's side had a 1-0 lead and dominated proceedings before a Declan Rice red card swung momentum. The Seagulls exploited the numerical superiority and rescued a point, much to the chagrin of Arteta, who accused referee Christ Kavanagh of inconsistent practices.
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14:30 - 31.08.2024
Saka breaks 20-year Henry record, Rice sent off as Brighton hold Arsenal to draw
The Gunners were held at home by Brighton as Declan Rice received a controversial red card
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Rice's first yellow card is incontestable. Kavanagh immediately went to his pocket for the England international’s poorly-timed lunge in the first-half.
The second yellow, however, sparked controversies, as the former West Ham midfielder was booked for ‘delaying restart’ by kicking the ball after the whistle had gone.
What Arteta said
The Arsenal boss assessed his team's performance and submitted that they had a showing when the match was numerically balanced and maintained a level that deserved to win the game even after Rice's sending-off.
"Overall when we played against 11 v 11 we deserved to win the game and 11 v 10 we deserved to win the game. We lost two points,” he said, per the BBC.
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The decision to send Rice off, however, has left Arteta befuddled. He admitted that the energetic midfielder erred but submitted that there were several instances of such from Brighton players who were not penalised.
"I was amazed. In the first half, when the opponents did that they didn't get any booking,” Arteta complained. “He makes the call by law in a non-critical area of the pitch when the ball hit the heel when turning around to make that decision.
“By law, he can do it but be consistent. If that is the case, they should have a man sent off and then it is 10 v 10.
"Amazing, the team and the reaction of the crowd [after going a man down]. We created two big chances one v one and we should have won the game."
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