A few days on and Declan Rice’s red card for Arsenal against Brighton & Hove Albion is still causing a lot of controversy, a decision that many simply can’t understand.
Rice was handed his second yellow in the second half when Arsenal were 1-0 up, given Chris Kavanagh deemed that the midfielder had tried to kick the ball away to hold up play.
The England international was beyond shocked when he saw red for the first time in his career, and he will now miss the north London derby once club football returns.
And given Mikel Arteta will also be missing Mikel Merino because of injury, the Arsenal manager certainly has a tough selection call to make for the upcoming trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
Of course, Arsenal can’t appeal Rice’s red card given it was the result of two yellows, and not a straight red.
Micah Richards says Declan Rice red card is ‘worst decision’ he’s ever seen
Speaking on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast, Rice’s red dominated a lot of the chat between Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker.
The trio all agreed that it shouldn’t have been a sending off, however Shearer did play devil’s advocate to an extent, and Richards had no time for it in response.
Raheem Sterling could make Arsenal debut away at Tottenham
The debate could rage on for hours, but either way it’s clear that there’s still so much inconsistency in officiating across the Premier League right now.
But the headline will still be that Arsenal are without Rice against Spurs, a situation that Arteta wouldn’t have been expecting.
And whilst Rice will be missing, Arsenal supporters could see Raheem Sterling in an Arsenal shirt for the first time against Tottenham, the kind of game a player of his experience can handle.
Although there’s a starting spot available, it would be something of a shock if Arteta reshuffled his team to start Sterling, who will need to be patient for his chances.
