We had yet another must win game at home to unbeaten Brighton, and the only change from Villa was Trossard starting against his old side.
Arsenal started purposefully and went straight in the attack, but with a few stray passes which dampened our pressure, but Raya didnt have much to for the first 15 minutes except for a couple of weak efforts from the Seagulls.
The 17th minute saw out captain Martin Odegaard given a gilt edged chance just a few yards out but didnt catch it right and the keeper easily saved it.
The next 20 mins saw 80% possession for the Gunners before Brighton had a small flurry of action in our half. A few minutes later and there was panic in the Arsenal box as a headed clearance mistake from Havertz saw the ball land at Mitoma’s left foot, but luckily he scuffed his shot.
It was not long after that a a bit of brilliant skill from Saka saw him send the ball over the defence to a running Havertz, who calmly lobbed the ball over the keeper to give us a well deserved lead.
There was only 7 minutes left in first half but enough to see Rice get a yellow card for a late tackle, and one for Partey who wasnt happy at being wrong footed..
The second half continued with the feisteness and just a few minutes in and suddenly Declan Rice gets his second yellow card after kicking the ball away after his first foul, despite getting a boot in the shins for his trouble. That looked dubious to me, and then we had our noses rubbed in it when Joao Pedro got the equalizer straight away.
Calfiori was brought on for Trossard to shore up the defence but Brighton were on the front foot and nearly scored again with our defence in disarray.
The next 15 minutes saw the Seagulls in control with Arsenal trying to force a way through despite being a man down.
There were battles all over the pitch with fouls going in everywhere and Timber was the next name in the book.
Martinelli was brought on, surprisingly replacing Odegaard, and suddenly we saw Havertz break into their box but the keeper got a foot to it and Sakas follow up was also blocked. Seconds later Havertz and Saka combined again but our starboy fluffed his golden chance to take the lead.
Timber got a knock with ten mins to go and Zinchenko came on in his place, with the game still hanging in the balance.
Both sides were looking for a break but BHA had the lions share off the ball. It looked like Arteta had decided to try and hold on for a point with the Seagulls shooting from everywhere.
There were six added minutes to endure as Raya made a great and brave save in his box as Brighton kept up the pressure.
I’ve lost count of the cards being given as we approach te whistle, but we managed to hang on for the point.
A tough game indeed, but both sides remain unbeaten….
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
The referee must be investigated. Rice didn’t deserve the second yellow card
Arsenal played against twelve men today
You need to learn the rules of football. Kicking the ball away, is a yellow card.
Why didn’t the Pedro get the card in the first half then? If Authorities are really looking to make a statement about their new rules, they should do it the first chance they get. Why didn’t Saka get a yellow in the second half then when he threw away the ball?
Rice was sent off fine, but it should’ve been a 10 vs 10 match. It was 10 vs 12 tbf.
Inconsistency is another argument. I cant answer that but Rice got a yellow card for kicking the ball away, delaying a free kick that the opposing player wanted to take quickly.
I think it wasn’t so much kicking the ball away but another ruling regarding not obstructing or interfering with a free kick
So why didn’t Joao Pedro get a yellow for hoofing a ball already out of play to the other end of the pitch?
Then it should apply to all teams not just Arsrnal. Maybe you can also enlighten us with your wisdom and tell us if kicking a player is also a bookable offence.
Yes kicking a player is also a bookable offence. But I haven’t a clue why you are asking.
Very true…. There was nothing wrong with the referee dicision. That was a brain fart by Rice. It doesn’t matter whether another player was not cautioned for the same offence earlier
Unless your Pedro ????
He will get the Abu dhabi bonus.
@Gai, I agree with you absolutely 👌
It’s up to Arsenal to appeal the card.
Unfortunately Merino is injured to replace Rice hope Jorginho can replace hime effectively against Spuds
Jorghino was not good enough against spuds last year.
I hope to see Partey and Timber in midfield and Calafiori at LB against spuds; Zinchenko and Jorginho no where near the starting lineup.
The referee must be mad because rice don’t deserve that card
This was clear to me when both of our midfielders got carded right before half time.
Luckily we have squad depth.. Errr unfortunately we dont with Merino and Jesus already injured and our squad consisting of 21 players I think.
Whoever says this Brighton team will not finish in the top half haven’t been watching games.
Brighton were not good today though
Even though Brighton is a “bogey” team of ours, it was Arsenal that dropped the points. If the situation was reversed, I suspect we’d be quite pleased getting the away point.
Arteta was rubbish today
What’s with all the too much shuffling ?
We got a red, but it was a Brighton that was still beatable
Then u take our playmaking pointman in Bukayo were from the right for about 20 minutes
Yes we’re 1 man down but don’t gamble with our strength
Saka is how we play, without him there u condemned us to just defend only through
We are down but we can still hurt them when the time is right – that means our own play identity must still be intact
Bye Bye to Trossard started, he started and we dropped point
What on earth has Rice getting sent off got to do with Trossard. What a gonk.
The trend in the team since last season is:
Whenever Arteta shuffles the starting 11 (if not enforced by injury) we will drop points
The first 11 are so in sync that we kinda drop a little with even just one change
The larger better of the first half was lethargy – we know Martinelli will install some zest via that left
When did arteta take of saka or was it another game you were watching?
Saka was upfront at a point
Then he was on the left at a point
No matter what you shuffling Saka must not move – he’s our lifeline to creating something
And that Hinshelwood of theirs was absolutely no match for him
Arteta trying to tighten us up nullified our attacking threat also
So the game just became Brighton vs a League 1 team that was only defending all through and cannot even play for 2 minutes
My man. I’m not sure you watched the same game. Brighton are perfectly capable of hurting anybody especially with the extra man advantage. Given the balance of play a draw is an acceptable result. It was Declan’s red card and not Trossard’s start that hurt the team. I was actually impressed with Arteta’s tactical changes. It’s an unpopular opinion, but Odeengard was not in the game even before the red card and just faded badly after, so bringing on Martinelli who can stretch Brighton’s backline on for him was the right call. Another unpopular opinion is that Saliba was way out of position for the goal we conceded. I also noticed Timber’s switch to the right before he got injured which effectively shackled Mitoma. The main point I think was Merino’s unavailability. I’m sure he would have played in some role to replace party or add more steel and guile to the midfield.
THE AGENDA IS ALWAYS HERE
Not the best performance, partly self inflicted though. Dug in and battled it out. Funnily enough Haverz and Saka could and probably should have won it for us. 2 points dropped at home but not a defeat. Which it could have been.
Nothing will get done to the ref as they are fireproof, the Rice sending off will be played for years as one of the most outrageous decisions ever by a Brighton Referee. Var not even looking at the kick on Rice, I’m actually never been more embarrassed about English football as I am today
Rice kicked the ball away, thats why it was a yellow card. There was no injustice. Just stupidity from Rice, who was on a yellow.
The only stupidity here is your comments defending the utter incompetence of the officials today
Look, I can’t help it, if you don’t know the basic rules of football and then, have the stupidity to then call someone stupid, who does.
Reggie
Please stop this 😥😥😥😥
Wake up and see the EPL has sold it’s soul to the Oil money
People are asking a simple question. If kicking a ball away after the whistle is a yellow card, why was João Pedro not booked in the first half?
Again, most professional referees with brains always caution a player who has committed a foul despite having already been booked
Go and check last season where Kovacic tackled both Ode and Rice from the back, and was given only a yellow card. Lastly, how often do you see referee decisions going against Man City? This happened the same when Ferguson was at United
You started it, by calling rice stupid first.
It WAS a yellow card offence, although I thought that considering the kick on Rice it might have been overlooked, but Rice was foolish, he should not have done that while already in a yellow.
Jax, Rice kicked the ball away, thats why he got kicked. I thought the same but I have just seen another angle where Veltman is looking down field to play a quick ball to another player. He doesn’t look down, he kicks where he thinks the ball should be and it isn’t. The only anomaly is, the ball would have been moving and wouldn’t have been allowed.
😭😂😂
Quick ball free kick on a moving ball? With the force from Veltman leg that was not a pass to anybody
The channel I was watching had a look from behind and there was no quick pass on to anyone. Rice got played, it’s his own fault for touching the ball, which I don’t think he meant to. I think he meant to step to the side to obstruct a quick freekick but ended up touching the ball. By the laws of the game that’s a second yellow. It is strange how Pedro got away without getting a card for a similar offence and also Partey getting booked for far less than what had been happening to Saka all game! Crap refereeing and glad the crowd called it out. In the end it was decent point against a team that will likely take points off our rivals as well. Onto the next game, unleash Sterling from his Chelski prison shackles onto the Spuds for a hatrick on his debut and instant legendary Arsenal status! 💪❤️🤍
Spot on Solwills.
Did Rice kick the ball away? There’s almost no contact between Rice and the ball, but he shouldn’t have done it.
Was the referee generally consistent or inconsistent?
@Rootk1t
We weren’t up for it on the day, plain and simple. It happens and must be accepted. Instead of trying to blame the ref for our poor form. Just sayin…🤔
NY, i think people need to look at our faults, instead of always burying their heads and finding excuses. Rice didn’t need to do what he did?
@Reggie
Realness 👍🏾
It’s not the rules that are the problem, but the judges’ subjective perception of various incidents, which in turn leads to arbitrary and unfair judgements.
Exactly Didrik Plehn. Being accountable is fine as long as the other club (in this incidence as well as several others in the game) is being held accountable as well.
Or maybe the only stupidity is you not accepting that Rice was at fault regardless of inconsistencies by the ref.
Please stop …
The Brighton player kicked the ball far from where the foul occurred to Declan’s foot and he “brushed it aside” receiving an intentional kick in the process.
There was no act of stupidity by Declan.
The referee was abysmal.
Rice had the option of walking away or even running away, without doing anything. He didn’t.
Why is no one talking about the ball rolling when the Brighton defender tried playing the ball
Yes, that’s true. It was unlikely to be easy of course – and it wasn’t. Some comfort I suppose in that it’s actually a better result than we often get against one of our real “bogey” teams, but certainly disappointing overall. The red card for Rice – justified or not – being the icing on the cake of disappointment, particularly with Sp*rs up next.
Anyway, we can but hope West Ham do us a favour in the late game today, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see City back on top this evening.
City is not like arsenal. They always double up whenever arsenal drops points. If city are playing with Brighton and they happen to have red card, they can still beat Brighton. Arsenal cannot even create a counter attack when they’re one man down. With these plenty of games this season, I don’t see arsenal in a better position in all competitions with their thin squad. There will be lots injuries. Arteta deliberately refused to bring in a striker, relying on midfielders. This season is a different one to last season.
That’s what i was trying to say upwards
We’re a man down
But we can still hit them on a counter and still win
Leave Bukayo on the right
Bring in Martinelli for his speed and put him where he plays 95% of the time (on the left)
Then let’s wait for the opportunity to hurt them
But Arteta moved Bukayo upfront at a point
Moved him to the left at a point
Martinelli came in and played in the middle almost throughout
That certainly condemned us to only defending cos our playing style/pattern has lost and we wouldn’t be able to create purposely – with all our attackers not in their most comfortable positions
WE had two clear cut chances…..
With Ten men…..
It’s hard to score chances when your forcing things
We’ll largely defend, Yes
But we’re still the better team and don’t need too many chances to score when we are able to create the chance by playing our way
We didn’t play anymore after the red
If our attack was still in shape, while defending, after winning the ball, everybody in the team knows how to find Saka one the right
We also know how to find a running Martinelli for a counter-attack
Leave at least those 2 in place and we can purposely create a chance our own way and take it
Those were chanced opportunities – we a League1 team feels they can beat a top team cos they absolutely can match them and their only chance is to loop ball forwards
Why were we playing like that against Brighton
Not Man City, Not Real Madrid
We can still beat them with 1 Man Down but we’ll have to do it largely defending
That doesn’t mean you should kill our own play pattern – with that over tweaked then we were relying on chance
We could still tactically have the fate of this game in our our hands
Not by looping ball upwards and hoping the attackers can convert it
You’ve made your point clearly and they’re quite reasonable. But we probably would have been having another conversation if we conceded two goals or more and eventually lost the game. I think Arteta wanted to be sure we won’t concede another before looking to get a winner. Even with the tactical switches you described, we still had two clear opportunities for Kai and Saka that could have got us the winner.
Stop moaning dude…..
Like you know any better than the coach. You want us to defend and still want us to play our way with a man down. Well our way of playing does not involve defending but offensive and possessive which become impossible having an important player sent off. hence, the conservative approach. Don’t take a football genius to get that.
Hopefully, you’ll be proved wrong in the EPL this season. No two seasons will necessarily be alike but that applies to every club, even City. Only 35 games to go to find out.
Arteta refusing to bring in a striker? Possibly there were various (sometimes differing) quotes around from him, but it could have been that there wasn’t a suitable deal to be done in the time and/or for the money available. Who knows? At least Sterling, a winger, was brought in at the last minute so that’s something. We’ll have to see what he can do.
👍
did you watch the game?
or did you have this prepared script ready and waiting for the first game we don’t win
embarrassing
Rice touched the ball a little – so that could kinda justify the ref
But it wasn’t worth a red card
I watched Newcastle get a red for something that was nothing on Day 1 also
Right, common sense here. Rice kicked the ball away and DIDN’T get a red card. He got a yellow but because he had a yellow all ready, he got red.
I know, but as a ref when u realize the player already has a yellow then don’t give another yellow for something that’s so silly
The ref in the champions league said that when we played Bayern
Gabi touched the ball with his hand while giving the ball to Raya to play the Goal Kick after the ref had blown – the ref said it’s mistake that can be overlooked and players shouldn’t necessarily be booked for something like that
That’s not a rule though
It’s left to individual referees intuition
It doesn’t work like that.
So how does it work since Jao Pedro didn’t get a yellow card for kicking the ball away. Or did Welbeck get a card for telling the ref to show a card? Are you saying the ref was 100% right all game?
You are trying to be very unbiased,but it looks like you are actually leaning to the other side
Thank you
Read my post above. Inconsistency is a different argument. That does not alter the fact what Rice did was a yellow card offence. If he wasn’t on a yellow card already, it would have just been a yellow card. Don’t try to make out i am being this or that, like you are insinuating. Im telling you how it is.
Rice had the option of walking or running away. He didn’t take it. Don’t look for a scapegoat.
Reggie are you a spud?
Are you lacking intelligence?
You should be asking yourself that question
The more reason why the Ref should have been more circumspect, it was easier to book J. Pedro who was not on a yellow than Rice on a yellow. Dude was clearly inconsistent with his calls and most was against us not just the red card. When I saw the red for Rice I was not even supriced or angry at that point judging by his first half performance
Exactly Solwills. Yes, I had noted the same thing but I was still almost as surprised as Rice when he turned around after the defender kicked him as he was walking away.
Reggie my friend, you make good points, but people are too emotional at the moment and don’t want to hear the fair point you make.
We could talk about us being off the boil a bit this game, or Odegaard wasn’t as sharp as he normally is, or Rice losing his temper and making a stupid decision.
We could even talk about how Trossard got a start but didn’t deliver like he does as a sub.
Or how Arteta decided to pack it in and not play to when with 10 men at home.
Instead the ref is blamed for dropping 2 points, because that is easier than looking in the mirror and acknowledging where we came up short this match.
Play to win I meant
How does any of what you said is supposed to stop us calling out a referee that was having a bad day with endless stupid decision all through the match…. One thing you don’t realize is inconsistency in officiating affect the flow of a suppose good match
We were clearly playing to win until the red card, and even had couple more opportunities to win after that.
I think you made very fair points
I agree that Trossard has been a better impact player and Odegaard definitely wasn’t his usual self.
I didn’t think we fully recovered from the long injury time out as we were pretty good until then but Brighton took the opportunity to improve.
Usually, the home team get the rub of the green, but I genuinely felt that the referee wasn’t consistent at all and that (rather than Rice getting a second yellow) is the reason for annoyance from most posters
Correct as usual Sue.
Yes, Durand, you are right but there is no excuse for a lack of basic respect. I have always been someone who looks to home for faults, not trying to find excuses.
Plus Durand, i am older in the tooth now and realise society has changed. Its more of a blame game nowadays. Rather than look to home. I try to see it as it is. Well in my world as it is.
@Durand
Thank you…👍🏾
How does any of what you said is supposed to stop us calling out a referee that was having a bad day with endless stupid decision all through the match…. One thing you don’t realize is inconsistency in officiating affect the flow of a suppose good match
Poor decisions by the ref is a separate topic, and I agree with you about his inconsistent decisions. Refs should not impact the game like he did, they should only informed the rules.
That said, Rice was on a yellow already, lost his head when he violated the rules.
Hasn’t Rice himself addressed this and admitted his guilt and regret?
Unfair decision, I agree, but I don’t deny reality, especially as Rice himself clearly explained what happened and why it resulted in a 2nd yellow.
Enforce the rules I meant.
Had Rice not been on a yellow card the ref would never had booked him fact and no one can tell me otherwise
@ MTG, kicking the ball away is a bookable offence that’s a basic rule. Rice received a yellow card. He was never given a red card for that. It only turned to a red for obvious reason. Whether Pedro did the same earlier, it doesn’t really matter, but Rice was supposed to be more responsible. The team got themselves into that position by being toothless upfront
Perfectly said my friend.
Durand, would you say that the defender kicked the ball away (and forward)?
👍
The ref was clearly biased from the onset and I thought our players apart from being experienced professionals they should also be academically intelligent. Today Brighton never came to play,they came with a specific motive to rattle us.Rice gave the Referee a reason to execute his plan and am very disappointed in Declan,I hope he learns what winning a match details, this draw is solely on him and he should grow up.
I am a massive fan of Declan, but he is the only Arsenal player to blame today, he knows if you kick the ball away you get booked. The ref (P—K could have turned a blind eye to it but chose not to!
This was such a tough watch.
All the officials involved were utterly incompetent.
Referee kept blowing whistles for every minor collision, and then no whistle for many outrageous fouls.
The linesmen kept raising flag early instead of letting the attack play out.
The game had no rhythm, it was like watching a league one match.
3 weeks into the season and looks like we’re in for another season of PGMOL sh1t show
AdPat we didn’t play Wolves today 😉
Regarding the game, I thought we began pretty well and it was the injury time out that seemed to knock us off our stride which was very disappointing.
Well taken goal from the Saka/Havertz partnership which we were unable to improve upon sadly.
Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the sending off, I thought the referee wasn’t particularly good.
Reggie, above, has rightly pointed out that Rice kicked the ball away but the reason wasn’t that according to TNT sports who said he got a yellow for delaying a restart
Also
Raya was our man of the match
I agree. Another terrific performance – and as in the previous game, it had to be at times.
Kicking the ball away, which delayed the restart. Either way, it was a yellow Sue.
👍
Silly of him then to rise to the gamesmanship from Brighton
A costly situation in all probability
Common sense reply Sue. Unlike some on here. 👍
Do you also want us to thank god we have you on here as the voice of reason?
Well you definitely aren’t.
One of the reasons I rarely post on this site. Rice was stupid to test the referee already on a yellow and let the team down. Every time there is an incident against us, the referee is cheating and should be investigated. If the same decision was in reverse – total silence. Get real, referees are not against us, why would they be? Rice broke two rules, prevented a quick free kick being taken and kicked the ball away. I doubt he’ll ever do that again.
Bravo Andrew. You are brave. Helmet on mate, the abuse will come for being sensible. 🤣
Rice’s first yellow was also really stupid and he had no one to blame for that one but himself.
Reggie, this could come back to bite us in the NLD. I’ve taken your advice, my helmet is close by.😄
The referee is overly strict, they have the power to overlook these minor infractions and in fact did do it in other situations within the same match.
While the Ref can give a yellow card, surely they should moderate themselves understanding that they’ll have a significant impact on the match
Exactly Sue. We can argue the rights or wrongs of the decision until the end of time but the fact remains, Rice gave the referee the decision to make. Behind closed doors I hope that will be the focus. A moments indiscipline has costs us points in this game and weakened us for the NLD.
Reggie, when the defender kicked the ball away (and forward) was he delaying the free kick and, therefore, shouldn’t he have got a yellow card?
Ken, that’s the thing that gets me. People going on about the laws of the game, but the Brighton player didn’t stick to the law by moving the ball 3/4 yards away from where the foul was committed. If he had have taken the free kick from where it should’ve been then none of this controversy would have happened.
Exactly HD. Not only did he move the ball, but then he tried to gain even further yards by pushing through the rolling ball.
It hit Rice, who swiped it aside as he retreated, I assume now for the ten yard mandatory distance required by the rules and the rest is history.
The laws of the game are really quite simple, the problem here is, the referee only applied them to The Arsenal in the strictest sense, but failed to do so with Brighton and the question has to be WHY?!
HD & Ken1945 – once again you guys are right on the mark. It was obvious what the Brighton player was trying to do and Cavanaugh fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Like so many other situations in the game, it was not considered impartially. Why is a very interesting question. Getting caught up in the moment and having it impair your judgment, conscious or unconscious favoritism or something much more dark?
I thought that our Captain had a a minor knock hence Arteta took him off
Thomas Partey was the only midfielder today for us, the rest were hiding, what a shift, covered every part of the midfield today and still our best midfielder.
Arguably the best CDM in the world I wonder how some of our fans don’t see that
Partey looks like a bully to every one he’s marking
Just the same aura Saliba, Van Dijk, Konate, Rodri have when they’re marking you
It’s like they’ll win the ball off you 19 times out of 20
Morgan Rogers
That’s never a yellow card in any way, ball was rolled into Rice path and was still rolling
And what was the justification in Brighton player hitting Rice that hard without being carded?
Poor officiating from start to finish. EPL is a joke.
Why didn’t Rice just keep walking. This would not even be a talking point if he had. But no, he couldn’t, even though he was on a red. Only one person to blame.
Sorry on a yellow, which led to red.
👍
Sorry Reggue but your completely wrong here.
Having just got back from the game, I can tell you thar the referee should not have sent Rice of.. WHY?
Because the first offence was taking a free kick while the ball was rolling and that was the first offence.
If the referee had followed the rules, he would have blown up and yet he didn’t even punish the Brighton player.
I have never seen such a incompetent and biased piece of refereeing since the days of Mike Dean and he didn’t just make bad decisions for both sides, they were against us 100%.
I couldn’t understand why we withdrew into defence so quickly, especially as, when we did attack, we looked like scoring.
Partey has a fantastic game and so did the defence, after the sending off and we should be talking about a contract extension ASAP.
Havertz had a good game, but he really does need to sort his feet out and know when to go down for a penalty – mind you, this poor excuse for a referee wouldn’t have given it anyway!!
In summary, we lost two points due to poor refereeing, becausd we were well on top until then.
Our defending for 40 odd minutes (after the sending off) showed grit and determination and the feeling of injustice is what Arsenal fans at the game felt, as the referee was soundly booed off the pitch.
Sorry Reggie, but you have got it 100% wrong.
“Because the first offence was taking a free kick while the ball was rolling and that was the first offence.”
He never actually kicked that rolling ball to make that first offence… because rice kicked the ball away
Ken Rice kicked the ball away. Thats also why it was rolling and a bit of an anomaly that I have said earlier. Veltman looked down the line to get a quick free kick away. He rolled it towards Rice, it hit Rices leg, Rice kicked it away. Veltman never looked anywhere else but where he was going to kick it. Because Rice moved the ball Veltman kicked his leg. Because the ball wasn’t where he was expecting it. Whatever anyone thinks. Rice would not have go a yellow card, if he had walked off.
Watch it and you will see that the ball was rolling – pure and simple.
So he wouldn’t have been able to make the pass anyway.
Are you now saying that it was the fault of Rice that the ball hit him?
So, in future games, a player should aim to hit his opponents leg with a rolling ball and not spot the ball down and wait for the referees whistle, hoping that the player will respond?
If the free kick hadn’t been taken , why did the referee book him for “kicking” the ball away, when it was thrown at him Davi?
Who made the first error?
Surely it was the defender, for “throwing” the ball away in the first place? That’s if your scenario is correct.
Ken, are we watching the same thing? The Brighton player threw the ball down to take the freekick and rice walked across his path and softly kicked it away. Who said anything about the defender throwing the ball away? The Brighton player was ready to get on with it and rice prevented that from happening.
I don’t think we are Davi.
The defender threw the ball and it hit Rice – illegal right?
The ball, having hit Rice, was not still, but rolling, so how could the defender have got on with it?
The ball hadn’t been spotted down and the referee hadn’t blown his whistle, so how could he have got on with it I ask again?
He didn’t throw the ball at rice. Just watch it back.
So I made a mistake when i said “threw the ball down” – the Brighton player kicked it forwards naturally as he got up, like when you dribble
That’s no excuse for your interpretation that he threw the ball at rice btw – you made that up on your own
The ball didn’t just hit rice – it did initially, but then he intentionally walked across the Brighton player and intentionally nicked it away. It looked like he thought that if he kicked it away gently and took the hit, the Brighton player be the one would get in trouble, but that doesn’t speak well of him. I’ve not noticed him being sneaky like that before – maybe he shouldn’t try it in future.
There’s your argument shot to pieces then.
The defender threw the ball and it hit Rice.. Illegal.
That’s where the game should have been stopped and the defender yellow carded, unless you think that throwing the ball at an opponent is in the rules.
I don’t have to discuss or argue further, as you have just described the initial offence… END OF!!
I was at the game and, believe me, the defender knew EXACTLY what he was doing.
This is unhinged, Ken. The Brighton player didn’t throw it at rice, and I never said he did. He kicked it forwards naturally as he got up, like when you dribble. It touched rice but it was in no way an attempt by the Brighton player to initiate something.
Honestly this is the most ridiculous conversation.
You are wrong ken. The defender tried to take a quick free kick down the line, which he is entitled to do. He threw the ball with backspin like many do and tried to kick the ball where he thought it would stop. As he tried to kick it Rice flicked it away. Because of that the defender missed the ball and kicked Rice. From the front view all the time Veltman had his eyes on the player he was kicking it too. Rice should not have kicked it. Simples.
I’m watching it back and the Brighton player never touched it with his hands. No throwing the ball down. Sorry for correction – I’ve just made that mistake myself.
Arsenal missed an opportunity to sign a clinical center forward and now we are going trophyless for another season again!
Well done, hope you are happy now?.?
The gloom is a little premature after three games. I too really hoped Arsenal would bring in a striker, but they didn’t (lack of time and/or money possibly) so there it is. We have another winger though in Sterling and hopefully he’ll add to the attacking mix.
The lack of depth in strikers may have an effect over the season though. We’ll be relying upon Havertz a lot, but should he be injured, even suspended or plain tired out there’s not a lot of “specialist” backup.
Many JS posts mention the “goals across the team” which has been true in the past, so we’ll have to wait and see if that happens again across 2024-25.
What of the €200 Million transfer warchest?😀
Well, that’s at the bottom of the sea under the Marie Celeste, I think. There’s £4.50 left in an old mug on Edu’s desk though.
oh silly me, i thought it was the red card that changed the game, whereas clearly it was ‘striker, striker, striker’
I at least thought it would take a loss for these commenters to regurgitate their no new striker doomsday predictions. I too would have liked the right striker to have been acquired but not because I felt another one was needed to win rather than not win the title, that’s just simply ridiculous imo.
Nothing whatsoever to do with today’s game Hill – Havertz scored a great goal and should have had a great “assist” if Saka had scored.
Perhaps these will be the only two points dropped all season, but it seems you have us out of all four competitions after just three games!!
I despair at some of our fanbase, but it’s their opinion of course.
Shame on Edu and Arteta. Failed to sign proper striker for the third year. See the contribution of Joao Pedro for Seagulls, but we don’t have it for another year. I used to rate them high, but a draw with Brighton, who have sold many outstanding players, at home is really shambolic.
Yeah! So Arteta and Edu should be sacked with immediate effect, and bring in a coach and sporting director who can get us any striker.
🤣
rice didnt KICK the ball away it was a playful dunt brighton lad was in full bruce lee mode b4 the dunt shocking from ref & var
Chapeau fo Havetz…..What a signing!!
The Ref should be sacked. No if’s, no but’s,…. SACKED. You could see he hung his head in shame afterwards. Useless corruption cheat…🤬😓😢😟🥵🤢👿🎃🙉
I am not sorry to say that, this is a nonsense performance by the Gunners who were playing at home against the Seagulls in the Epl today.
They should have found a way out to win the match. But not to give any excuse of being a man down in the game to be forced to a draw game to thereby dropped two valuable points.
If it were Man City who had a man sent off and were down to 10 man in the match. Wouldn’t they have won the match? I think they will..
This not a championship winning performance shown by the Gunners today at all. But another 2nd placed finish performance that was shown by us Arsenal. Saka fluffing his lines when he had a big chance to put us ahead 2-1 in the match was a pathetic fluffing of his lines for Arsenal that came from him.
My friend,Who doesn’t lose chances? If Arsenal is that terrible as u put it why do you rate there performance as a second finish behind only city.
Finishing behind City every other season must tell you that it may take more than just football on match days to dethrone them.May be we may need a fundraising to bribe epl Referees before dethroning City.
comments from the super coach right here…
With the lack of depth in attacking areas, I think we have a much lesser chance of winning the league than last season. 😔😔😔😔😔
oh that’s why the red card changed the game, dear me…good name but, a certain ring to it!
In fairness though, he’s not saying that, is he. The post relates to a (legitimate) argument that failure to bring in a striker in the recent window could (could) effect Arsenal’s chances of winning the league at the end of the season, given our reliance on Havertz in that role. We’ll have to see how that pans out over 38 games.
But that’s really nothing to do with the unfortunate circumstances of today’s game, Rice’s red card etc.
“really nothing to do with…today’s game” is exactly the point, we are discussing today’s game, there has been seemingly endless weeks of ‘striker, striker, striker’, give the ‘striker, striker, striker’ a rest for a few months and watch the actual football!
Yes, that’s true but if he wants to do so (albeit it’s academic now – or at least until January). Live and let post, I say.
Its time this issue about corrupt officiating is addressed.
I get a feeling the Premier league has so many corrupt Referees. There are matches you will outrightly tell they have been somehow influenced like today.Its quite unfortunate
This things make it very difficult for England getting any meaningful results internationally despite the obvious talent because this league is skewed.
Somehow English teams end up performing dismally in Europe because some people determine who finishes where on the table.So bad.
The problem is, players are punished for their mistakes, refs aren’t. Nothing happens to them. They are protected. Okay Rice should get the second yellow, but how did VAR didn’t see that blatant kick to the shin, which was no attempt to play the ball, the ball was moving if you really want to get technical with the rules, the ball was moving, and his pass wouldn’t have connected at all! That was a blatant kick and he should’ve been red carded. It should’ve been 10 vs 10 men match seriously.
Wrong, refs are punished, if they have bad games. They get dropped and demoted. It happens more than you think.
Tell me how the refereeing was not punishable in this match? Rice yellow was fine, what about the Veltman kick to the shin? Pedro kicking ball away right before the Rice incident? Come on.
What has a refereeing performance good or bad got to do with me. If he had a bad game, then he will be punished. If he didn’t he won’t. Inconsistency happens, it does on here, Inconsistency is a different issue. I am on about Rice on a yellow card, not walking away.
Ball wasn’t even stopped, rice didn’t have too walking away at that point as free kick could not yet be taken
No Reggie, your defending the indefensible here.
IF referees get punished, they are dropped for a game, but, as we found out last season, they are then introduced into the VAR team and back out the next set of games.
How can you say it happens more than you think, if you don’t know?
We are told when a referee is punished, but how does that help the situation we find ourselves in?
Rice will miss the north London derby game and there can be no excuses or explanations for the referee today and that includes the ones he missed on Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli.
Told my mate the same thing also, if we really want to be technical, if that free kick had been taken that quickly it would have been a moving ball. With common sense the referee should have seen the illegal intention of the Brighton player, kicking a moving ball, and applied common sense just like he did while not booking J. Pedro for kicking the ball away since we all want to be technical.
You have it in a nutshell Daulat and that was the first and, therefore, the only offence.
Of course, going through Rice after the whistle was a bookable offence, but the referee and Reggie seem not to know the rules!!
FUMING?! You bet I am 😡😡😡
This is such mental gymnastics – the Brighton player didn’t have the chance to kick a moving ball because rice kicked the ball away
Anyone honestly putting themselves in the referee’s shoes at that moment would realise they’d see rice kicking the ball and intentionally trying to stop a quick freekick. Anyone honestly trying to referee the game wouldn’t be thinking “wait! Would that ball have been moving?! Then rice was fine to kick the ball away!”. That’s how a biased fan might see it, but anyone even trying to be objective would not.
I think J Pedro should have been booked, but it was a completely different situation – it was much earlier in the game and Pedro wasn’t stopping a fast counter, rice really might have. Looks slightly bad in retrospect, but I think we can apply “common sense” and understand the differences.
So the ref. is not suppose to spot a moving ball?
The freekick hadn’t been taken – and it’s irrelevant because rice made it irrelevant by preventing the kick from being taken.
So your excusing the referee for not spotting one incident (the initial one) but praising him for spotting Rice “kicking” the ball away?
It has to be obvious that, if a ball is thrown at someone’s legs, it will be moving when it comes off the legs – your mental gymnastics defy the laws of gravity!!
Rice was petulant ken, on a yellow all ready, he should have not got involved at all.
Exactly Reggie. A player of his caliber should know better. You know you’re on yellow already!!!! Why the risk? Very silly of him really.
But am very sure the Brighton man knew exactly what he was doing the drop ball is rolling even before being kicked by Rice, and I didn’t buy stopping a counter attack as no Brighton players was making any movement. In my opinion, he was anticipating rice blocking the movement of the ball with his body but rice naively made it easy for him by kicking the Ball. And believe me we’ll be seeing more of this attempt by players to get the other player punish subsequently.
But, as correctly point out by Ken , the first offense is the attempt of kicking a rolling ball by the Brighton’s player but rice was very silly and rash hence, he’s the main culprit.
If you have any sense, you’ll be embarrassed when you watch it back, Ken
Now I feel embarrassed – I should not have said “if you have any sense” as that was unnecessarily disrespectful – I apologise for that
I really don’t care what you say to be honest, but I would like you to answer the simple question that starts the sequence off – did the defender throw the ball, so that it hit the legs of Rice?
It’s such a simple question, but you aren’t answering it.
Saying that it’s irrelevant, is taking the easy way out, so did the ball hit Rice’s leg and, as a second question, was it moving after it struck Rice?
Reggie, he got involved because the defender got him involved by hitting him with the ball.
No he didn’t throw the ball at rice! It’s completely irrelevant if the ball was moving because rice stopped any freekick from being taken – so the Brighton player never took a freekick with a moving ball! If this were the other way around you’d be able to see it clearly, I’m quite sure…
Then you are watching something that didn’t happen.
Nobody but yourself and, maybe Reggie, are disputing that the defender hit Rice’s legs with the moving ball.
It’s pointless arguing with someone who can’t admit what is actually there for all to see.
That’s without, then, talking about the follow through by the defender on Rice.
I’m not sure if we will see free kicks being taken with a moving ball, when the referee hasn’t blown his whistle, when it’s not spotted correctly, when one player then fouls another and the referee ignores all of those factors and doesn’t give a yellow card to the player responsible for three of those facts, but if we do, the rule book will have to be rewritten.
The ball did not even touch the Brighton player’s hands, so no, he did not throw the ball at rice.
I am not disputing the ball touched rice on the legs, but it’s such a minor thing and doesn’t appear remotely intentional or something that would affect rice at all- it’s completely irrelevant.
And if the ball was moving, why would that give rice the ability to kick it away? Are you disputing he did that?
In fact, I’ll even dispute it touched rice on the legs, just to be accurate. It touched one of his heels. Both the ball and his foot were on the ground – it was the most minor of minor things to be harping on about.
PEOPLES… Ken is right. DONT make asses of yourself arguing with Ken, watch the incident again
THE defender kicked…albeit not hard… the ball when he got up, it hit Rice ..who should not have kicked out at it but in his defence? something hits me? BUT the start of the issue where kicking a ball at a player who has his back turned and walking away should have been equally an offence..common sense?? but PL refs…90% are incompetant especially the ones on VAR
Polski that is a pathetic interpretation – the ball was not kicked at rice when his back was turned. Be real.
Poor officiating from the referee, because he was inconsistent and that was mostly with Arsenal, twice Saka was fouled early in the game but he let play go, but not the same for us. If Rice tapping the ball away is seen as a yellow, what about J. Pedro booting the ball away after a throw in had been awarded us? Inconsistency. Rice first yellow should have been called back as a foul on Rice who tried to stay up, one of other fouls against us he let go.
Disappointed that we didn’t get all 3 points, but the sending off definitely had an affect. Both teams had a chance to grab the winner, bad finishing from us, and a good save from Raya meant the points were shared.
Regarding the red card, yes unfortunately it was correct, but watch it again and you’ll see that the Brighton player should also have got one, as he deliberately kicked Rice in the leg. No way did he try to take a quick free kick, as his foot was to high to kick the ball.
So Arsenal didn’t win their first 5 games as many predicted
Be humble peeps
You’re certainly not
What a crass comment Dan, well below what I thought of you.
Still unbeaten though and I guess that’s driving you crazy?!
I actually think with 10 men that’s a decent point
Absolutely Dan, I never thought we would get anywhere near but unfortunately got caught up in the hype today by predicting 3-2 😂
A good result with 10 men
Take the point and get out of there
As for the corrupt officials 😂, hardly, just them doing their jobs, kick the ball away (like that) and it’s a booking!
GB, that’s ok if the ref was consistent, but Pedro kicked the ball away and didn’t get a yellow.
Unfortunately it is a booking
I don’t believe officials are corrupt
There not very good but zero evidence to say they are against us
I can name dodgy decisions that have gone our way
Another wrong opinion GB.
The ball was rolling and THAT was the first offence and it would have been the ONLY offence if the referee had been competent and blown for that infringement.
The ball was rolling because Rice kicked it.
No Reggie, the ball was rolling when the defender threw it at the legs of Rice and then rolled away – pure and simple.
As I say, that’s the first offence and anything that followed should be null and void.
It didn’t roll away, Rice kicked it away.
By kicking it away, he is delaying the free kick being taken. Which by the law is a yellow card. Which is what he got.
Did the defender hit the legs of Rice?
Rice said: “I think from my behalf, that’s my first sending off in my career, so I just wanted to apologise obviously to my teammates, which I’ve done, and to the fans.”
“When you get sent off, it’s never nice, you get a sense of guilt over you, and I was lucky today that my teammates really helped me out and we didn’t lose the game. I’ll learn from it.”
“Yeah I was shocked, I think you could see in my face I was shocked. He’s obviously gone over, I’ve not sprinted over and smashed the ball away, I’ve touched the ball with the outside of my foot.”
“But look, this is the laws of the game. If you touch ball away, even a little bit, obviously it’s a red card after my challenge in the first half which I fully accept was a 50-50 that I didn’t win.”
“But the second half one, especially with it being in the corner flag, they can’t really progress anywhere from there. It was tough, it was harsh, but it’s one of those things.
“I have to move on from it, I will be better for it and I can only praise the players for digging deep for me, and the manager for pushing everyone, and the fans as well who were unbelievable again this afternoon. That’s how I see it.”
What humility got to do with anything?
We keep being told that it’s all about opinions but what is wrong with having the opinion that Arsenal were a good enough team to have won today? The fact that we didn’t win hardly amounts to people having to be humble
I think it’s more when people say we ‘ should ‘ win all 5 games and that we will go unbeaten, etc
I think it’s more your delight in trying to be smart on this occasion Dan.
We “should” win every game, at least that’s how a true supporter would want to think rather than hoping they don’t, to prove a churlish point that seems to make you feel good.
Not at all mate
You can think we will or want to win or even we can win all 5 games but to say we should be winning those 5 fixtures ( hard fixtures) is simply thinking we are better then we are
I’m not smart , never claimed to be lol
Against Villa , Gabriel blundered and we were fortunate when Watkins missed a sitter.To day he failed to deal with a long through ball which resulted in the Brighton equaliser.I believe he was instrumental in the injury suffered by Merino and while I recognise many injuries arise during training sessions, he needs to cut out the errors.I accept he has a lot of credit in the Bank for his steady performances last season, but we have a lot of competition for the LCB position and he needs to sharpen up against Spurs otherwise his place could be in jeopardy.
Grandad the Gabriel who caused Merinos injury is Martinelli not Maghaeles. Don’t be quick to judge kindly cut that dude some slack.
Cliff, all the press reports are saying it was Gabriel Maghaeles that fell on Merinos.
My apologies for mistakingly fingering Gabriel for the Merino injury.As for his performance on the field of play I feel justified in highlighting his errors which are not acceptable for a side with aspirations to win the League.
Grandad as far as i am aware it was Gabriel The defender as well.
You were right the first time GD.
Controversy breeds posts – lots of them. Unfortunately, justified or not (and I don’t think it was) the red card that Rice got still stands regardless as far as I know.
Time now for Arsenal to regroup, get over it, and (most importantly) get on with it. They shouldn’t need any additional encouragement to bounce back against their next opponents, should they – Rice or no Rice.
Rice should have known that he was on a yellow. He should have been more cautious. The Ref was right for the second yellow. The boys try in absorbing the pressure after Rice left. But my worry is, let our inability to buy an out and out striker come back to hunt us. With a good striker, we would have put the match to bed even before Rice was sent off. It’s unfortunate that those calling the shot did not see any need for a striker and trusted Harvertz and Jesus to lead the attack. Truly worrisome
A precedent has been set today. Once the whistle has gone, no opposing player can touch the ball whatsoever. Let’s see how this is enforced. Let the yellow cards rain down.
OK, enough pouring over the ref decision, it is not changing, it is done and not a crazy injustice (compared to others by all teams)
the team performance up to that moment was excellent, total control and a goal up
we were rattled after the red card and did not settle on our 10 man shape until already conceded
after that we had some chances, as did they
Arsenal then in damage limitation mode against a very good team, we got the draw and a point
7 points and +4 GD from first 3 games is fine, the important thing is the performance level was excellent, of course the hic-up red, a good point that could have been better but on balance OK
Point lost
Kia should have scored the second
Do u think psi men would have missed that chance ?
The club has reverted to it’s usual penny pinching
CITY for the title without question
We are top 4 again
And saliba will be off
I have watched the Rice incident several times. The Brighton player appears to accidentally kicked the ball forward with his right boot as he is getting to his feet and the ball strikes Rice’s left heel, who clearly knew nothing about it as he sauntered away. If that’s kicking the ball away it’s harsh .
If you’d watched several times you can’t have missed Rice nudging the ball away with the outside off his foot.
Speaking purely of performances, here are my thoughts:
Arsenal : Some wasted chances by Saka, Odegaard as well as Havertz. But considering the chances they got, Saka should’ve done better out of the clear-cut chances he got early as well as late. Defensively, the Brighton goal could’ve been avoided, Partey didn’t track Pedro into the box. That was poor from him. He could’ve cleared the rebound before it fell to Pedro’s feet.
Brighton: Chris Kavanagh, the MOTM for Brighton. Absolutely amazing performance. His coordination with rest of the Brighton players was exemplary.
Gabriel was the principal culprit in the Brighton goal, not Partey.
Gabriel didn’t mark properly, but watch the replay of the goal, pedro started his run from approximately where Partey was, and he basically jogged through to the box.
And yeah, Gabriel has been showing errors again in the first 3 games. I have a weird feeling Calafiori might get the nod to play alongside Saliba soon.