Predictably, Mikel Arteta was not happy with the decision to send off Declan Rice. Predictably, Brighton's Fabian Fabian Hurzeler said it was the correct call.
One thing everyone could agree on was that it massively swung the game, and Arsenal cannot afford to cede control of many more matches this season.
The Athletic's Amy Lawrence wrote on the lessons they must learn from a head-scratching afternoon at the Emirates Stadium — give it a read below.
Arsenal 1-1 Brighton
Having won both of their opening two matches, Arsenal welcomed Brighton to the Emirates Stadium in their last game.
A brilliant lob from Kai Havertz gave the hosts the lead in the first half, but their hopes of victory soon unravelled in the second half.
Within four minutes of the restart, Declan Rice was shown his second yellow card in a controversial incident with Joel Veltman. The England midfielder was adjudged to have delayed a Brighton free-kick by nudging the ball away and it left Arsenal a man down for the rest of the match.
Unsurprisingly, Brighton took advantage of the extra-man advantage and were soon level through Joao Pedro. The visitors continued to push for a winning goal and probably should have found one, but Mikel Arteta's side were able to hang on for a point to maintain their unbeaten start.
Tottenham Hotspur have taken 48 shots in their first three games of the Premier League season, according to Opta — more than any other team apart from Nottingham Forest (53).
They rank one behind Forest for shots on target with 20, and are joint-second for efforts outside the box (18) behind Crystal Palace’s 19.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have produced three good performances in those matches by dominating possession and boldly playing out from the back, yet have only four points from the nine available.
Before the international break, The Athletic broke down their struggles in front of goal against Newcastle — check it out below.
Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham
Tottenham were dealt their first Premier League defeat of the season in their last match before the international break. And it was a loss they really should have avoided.
After Harvey Barnes opened the scoring for Newcastle with the game approaching half-time, a rather comical Dan Burn own goal made it 1-1 before the hour mark.
From there, Spurs dominated the game and had countless opportunities to take the lead.
But they didn't take any of them and were punished on the break with Alexander Isak finishing off a clinical counter attack to win his side the game in the 78th minute.
This has caused quite the stir over the last days and, in my opinion, rightly so.
Arsenal will wear their away kit for a north London derby for the first time since 1986. The Premier League has ruled that their home kit includes too much white and is not different enough from Tottenham's home shirt.
So instead, Arteta's side will line up in their black away kit for today's game rather than their traditional red-and-white.
As soon as Odegaard limped out of Norway's 2-1 win against Austria, panic set in throughout the Arsenal fanbase.
They already knew they were going into a north London derby without Rice and Merino, losing Odegaard was just the cherry on top of a very unpleasant cake.
The Athletic's best Arsenal brains whirred into gear and it was Art De Roche's job to look at what midfielders Arteta was left with — you can find his piece below.
Despite claiming that "players with 48 hours are always available" in his pre-match press conference, Arteta will not be able to call on Odegaard for today's game.
"We need to see the extent of the injury and he quickly we can get him back", said Arteta. "He's super positive about everything. We know Martin, he wants to be there every single day but we have to wait and see."
He was then asked whether Merino has improving after he fractured his shoulder in his first training session.
"(He's) better. It's a slow process because it's a bone and it takes a while to heal," he said. "He's progressing well, he's already doing some stuff.
"He's working extremely hard and we're using this time to make sure he understands the things he has questions about, so that he's ready to go when he's back."
The last couple of weeks have been a nightmare for Arsenal on the team news front.
Declan Rice's red card in the 1-1 draw against Brighton means he is suspended and will not feature today.
And his absence of one of several for Arsenal; they are without captain Martin Odegaard, who sustained an ankle injury while on international duty, and new signing Mikel Merino because of a shoulder injury.
Another of their summer signings, Riccardo Calafiori, picked up an injury while representing his country but he could be involved today.
Elsewhere, defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is still out, while Arteta is hoping to have Gabriel Jesus available for selection.
After his initial injury round-up, Postecoglou was pressed on the issue facing Bissouma.
"It’s hard to say at the moment, it’s a tweak in his groin," said the Tottenham manager on Friday.
"The initial report is it’s not serious which means there is a chance for Sunday, which tells me it’s nothing significant.
"If he doesn’t make Sunday, then I’ll assume he’ll be right for after that. At the same time, he’s just come off a long flight, you never feel great anyway, we’ll see how he trains tomorrow (Saturday) and that will give the best indication."
There have been a few injury issues for Tottenham to contend with since the start of the season.
But the international break has done Ange Postecoglou's side the world of good. Both Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke have used the break to get back on the training pitch and they should both be in contention for today's game.
And Solanke's potential inclusion is important, with fellow forwards Richarlison and Will Lankshear still recovering from their injuries.
Midfielder Yves Bissouma picked up a groin problem while on international duty, so he is a doubt.
Home. That was the fourth word Mikel Arteta officially uttered as Arsenal manager. In his maiden press conference, in December 2019, with his smooth hair and youthful face, in a red polo shirt that looked fresh out of the packet, with everything in front of him — some things he expected and others he could not possibly imagine — the first expression that came to mind suggested he was at his happy place. “I feel back home,” he said.
As an opening sentence, it struck a chord because it was maybe a little unexpected to realise how much Arsenal had got under the skin of a player who represented six clubs in four different countries during his career. Although his time as a player was recalled fondly enough, it was not the easiest chunk of time in the club’s history.
There he was, Arsenal’s new head coach, ready to take the plunge into his first job at the sharp end. He was 37 and despite his high-calibre experiences as an ambitious assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, he had never, at that point, managed a single game. He was parachuted into a high-profile job made particularly demanding because the squad was not in a good place. Even today it seems a little mad — although the best ideas usually are.
Read more below
There was some big news for Arsenal supporters on Thursday morning.
Mikel Arteta committed his long-term future to Arsenal by agreeing a new contract, which will secure him to the Emirates Stadium until 2027.
Arteta’s previous deal was scheduled to expire at the end of this season — but both parties have moved to eliminate any uncertainty, with a three-year extension now in place.
The development will come as a significant boost to Arsenal ahead of today's north London derby. Arteta has been central to the club’s rise since he replaced Unai Emery as head coach in late 2019 and changed title to manager the following year.
Read more below.
Good morning and welcome along to The Athletic's live coverage of the season's first north London derby.
Tottenham vs Arsenal remains one of the great fixtures in world football and this one looks set to be a belter!
Arsenal arrive at the home of their greatest enemy without a few of their key players, while Tottenham come into this one on the back of a faltering start to their Premier League campaign.
Loads of time to go until kick-off in the capital, so stick with us for all the build-up.