Rice red card sets Arsenal back despite busy transfer window

The fretting over Arsenal’s squad depth was supposed to finish when the Premier League’s summer time switch window closed on Friday.

Raheem Sterling’s last-gasp arrival on mortgage from Chelsea had many Gunners supporters pitching up at Emirates Stadium on Saturday enthused by the choices supervisor Mikel Arteta has at his disposal. But they left the bottom after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion involved a couple of midfield space that abruptly appears to be like mild forward of the most important week of the season by far.

First, there may be a global break wherein to attract breath and regain among the composure that Arsenal briefly misplaced right here following Declan Rice’s Fiftieth-minute pink card. However then comes a seven-day interval wherein they journey to Tottenham Hotspur for the north London derby, Italy for a Champions League opener towards final season’s Europa League winners Atalanta after which to Premier League champions Manchester Metropolis.

Proper now, the indications are that new €32.5 million signing Mikel Merino will miss all three matches after struggling a fractured shoulder in his first coaching session. Rice is now suspended towards Spurs after a controversial dismissal, the primary of his 245-game league profession.

After a robust deal with on Joël Veltman simply earlier than half-time, the pair tangled once more shortly after the restart. As Veltman went to kick the ball — a transferring ball — to restart play following a free kick in his favour, Rice nudged it away and Veltman, who had already began swinging his proper leg, made contact with Rice as a substitute of the ball.

The Premier League later clarified Rice had “delayed the restart,” one thing he had technically executed however in a way not persistently punished; Brighton’s João Pedro booted the ball away after it ran out within the first half with no sanction from referee Chris Kavanagh. Arteta additionally cited one other first-half second and claimed Veltman ought to have actually been despatched off for kicking Rice.

“I used to be amazed,” Arteta stated postmatch. “Amazed, amazed, amazed due to how inconsistent selections may be.

“Within the first half, there are two incidents and nothing occurs. Then, in a non-critical space, the ball hits Declan [on the back of his leg], he turns round, he would not see the participant coming and he touches the ball.

“By regulation, he could make that decision, however then by regulation he must make the subsequent name, which is pink card so we play 10 versus 10. That is what amazed me. At this degree it is superb. [Declan] clearly had a response that his again was to the ball, that they are not in the course of the park, attempting to counter or something.

“Anyway, I repeat myself; by regulation if you wish to do it it’s a must to do it, however it’s a must to do it within the first half and play 10 towards 10. That is it. Quite simple.”

Brighton took benefit inside eight minutes. João Pedro turned dwelling the rebound after David Raya saved Yankuba Minteh’s shot, cancelling out Kai Havertz’s well-taken Thirty eighth-minute opener, lofted over Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

Fuelled by a way of injustice, Arsenal reorganised and after a brief spell wherein they appeared flummoxed by the right way to reorganise with 10 males, Havertz and Bukayo Saka had wonderful possibilities to attain, however each have been denied by Verbruggen. Brighton inevitably managed possession and went closest via substitute Yasin Ayari in between these Havertz and Saka possibilities however needed to accept a degree.

“We reacted to what we needed to do taking part in at dwelling with 10 males,” Arteta stated. “We did not wish to be so deep defending like this, however we learn the sport and we performed the sport that we needed to play and we must always have gotten rewarded.”

There was a minimum of some excellent news afterwards in that defender Jurriën Timber didn’t undergo a critical damage and was as a substitute substituted late on with cramp. Timber has been cited as a potential choice in midfield given his physicality and high quality on the ball. It can seemingly be one thing Arteta considers for the challenges forward, though Jorginho, Thomas Partey and Martin Ødegaard are the obvious matches to start out towards Spurs as issues stand.

The worldwide break will form their method and in addition give Sterling an opportunity to sharpen his recreation forward of the journey throughout the capital. Not chosen for England by interim coach Lee Carsley, Sterling will as a substitute work at Arsenal’s London Colney base and reacquaint himself with Arteta, with whom he developed a robust relationship throughout three years working collectively at Manchester Metropolis.

“Now we have to see him, converse to him [about] what he is been doing and the way he is feeling about it and attempt to discover fast wins to get him up to the mark as shortly as potential and for him to grasp what we’re in search of from him within the dynamics of the crew,” Arteta stated of Sterling. “We’ll use that point to try this and get him concerned as quickly as potential.”

And what of coping with out Rice or Merino? “That is what occurs,” Arteta replied. “Now we have to adapt to that context. That is why we’ve got different gamers that may fulfill that [role] and [I can] give that chance to any individual else.”

Maybe these squad considerations by no means really go away.