In a lunchtime kickoff at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion squared off, both sides keen to continue their winning streaks in the Premier League. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. Kai Havertz gave Arsenal the lead in the first half, but Joao Pedro gave Brighton the equalizer in the second half.
There was a lot of conjecture in the run-up to the game regarding Arsenal’s possible acquisition of Ivan Toney on transfer deadline day, as the team was said to be looking for a striker. Toney eventually joined Al-Ahli, though, so Arsenal were left to depend on their current options. With his second Premier League goal of the year, Kai Havertz silenced some of the doubters who thought Arsenal was in dire need of a new striker.
When Martin Odegaard left the game in the first half due to an injury, Arsenal did have some concerns. Even though he was able to play on, the team might need to keep a close eye on this. The only viable option on the bench right now is the extremely inexperienced Ethan Nwaneri.
There was controversy surrounding the game. Referee Chris Kavanagh made an important call that many feel was incorrect at a pivotal moment. A possible VAR error occurred earlier in the game when Lewis Dunk seemed to handle the ball from a Ben White shot, seemingly stopping a certain goal. The drama of the game was increased by this incident, which was aired on BT Sport and extensively shared on social media.
The real controversy arose when Declan Rice was given a second yellow card by Kavanagh. For his challenge on Joel Veltman in the first half, Rice received a booking. For allegedly kicking the ball away to stop play, he received a second yellow card. Many thought that this was a harsh decision, though, because Rice had barely touched the ball when Veltman kicked through him. The ball was already at his feet.
As it turned out, Veltman ought to have been dismissed for his belligerent challenge to Rice. The fact that Veltman’s kick didn’t seem to be intended to play the ball cast doubt on the justice of Rice’s dismissal.
Many contend that Veltman’s actions were more worthy of a red card, even though there are always differing interpretations of these kinds of incidents. This is especially true considering that the ball wasn’t even in play when the incident happened. The choice created a cloud of controversy over what was otherwise a hotly contested match, sparking debate among fans and pundits alike.
