Arsenal man Declan Rice picked up a controversial red card in the club's 1-1 draw against Brighton, which played a key role in the Gunners dropping points at home. He will now also face the double punishment of being suspended for the upcoming north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
Mikel Arteta was left amazed by the "inconsistent" refereeing from Chris Kavanagh on the day, as Joao Pedro avoided a booking for kicking the ball away, while his own midfielder was then sent off for a similar incident.
Things had been going well enough for the Gunners, with Kai Havertz's first-half lob giving them a lead at the break. Not long into the second half, however, the game fell apart for the home team after Rice was sent off.
Already on a booking, for an admittedly rash first-half challenge, the England international clashed with Joel Veltman and when the Brighton ace went to quickly take the resulting free-kick, Rice tapped the ball away.
As a result, Veltman swung a wild kick into the Arsenal man and initially looked to be in trouble. He bafflingly avoided punishment while Rice was deemed guilty of 'delaying the restart' and shown a second yellow.
Rice Will Be Suspended for North London Derby
Most bookings cannot be appealed
As mentioned before, his red card has served as a double punishment for Arteta and co, as – having dropped points against Brighton – they will now be without the £100m midfielder vs Spurs after the international break.
With so much controversy surrounding the call, many may well expect Arsenal to try and appeal the red card. However, thanks to official FA Rules, this is not a possibility.
Indeed, per 90min, there is only one circumstance in which clubs can lodge an appeal for a sending-off as a result of a double booking. The red card would have to have come as a consequence of mistaken identity.
As this does not apply to Rice, he will have to sit out one game for the Gunners. And while it will be hugely frustrating for Arsenal to not have him vs Tottenham, it could be worse.
Indeed, after the derby away from home, the north London outfit then travel to the Etihad to take on Manchester City. Had Rice picked up a red card, he would have likely been suspended for three games, thus missing the two aforementioned Premier League clashes as well as a home match against newly-promoted Leicester City.
Arsenal's Injury Problems
Mikel Merino and Gabriel Jesus sidelined
Arsenal did manage to strengthen their midfield in the summer with the arrival of Euro 2024 winner Mikel Merino. However, his time with the club got off to the worst possible start as he was injured in one of his first training sessions.
The 28-year-old collided with a team-mate, resulting in a "small fracture" that will keep him out for a "few weeks". Arteta elaborated on the set-back ahead of the Brighton game, saying:
"Yes very unfortunate. Yesterday he had a collision and he has got a shoulder injury, unfortunately. It looks like he is going to be out for a few weeks.
"He was really excited and everything was looking really good. He landed on the floor and Gabi landed on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture probably."
It remains to be seen as to who plays alongside Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard against Spurs, could it could see Kai Havertz drop into the midfield? But with Gabriel Jesus strolling for fitness, that would leave question marks about who will lead the line away at Tottenham.