The timing could hardly have been much worse for Arsenal. The moment that Declan Rice was shown a second yellow card for delaying a restart against Brighton, or for nudging the ball away, or for whatever it actually was, everyone knew he would miss the North London Derby.
No appeals are possible for this sort of thing, no VAR intervention for a yellow card either, so all noise and protest was to no benefit. That left Mikel Arteta with just over two weeks to think up a plan for playing without his midfield keystone.
Rice last missed a Premier League match in May 2023. Over the last 12 months, playing without him has been unprecedented for Arteta. That left a big enough hole, especially after Mikel Merino had already been ruled out for almost two months with a shoulder fracture.
Two down, luckily still two to go for Arsenal, who have Thomas Partey and Jorginho for cover. Ageing, less impactful, and undoubtedly slower cover, but cover at least, without upending the rest of the squad.
