Mikel Arteta has admitted he was “amazed” by the decision to send off Declan Rice in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.

With the Gunners 1-0 up at the time, Rice was shown a second yellow card for lightly kicking the ball away, with that decision ultimately changing the game and allowing Joao Pedro to snatch an equaliser just moments later.

Pedro was perhaps fortunate to avoid a similar fate. He kicked the ball away after giving away a throw-in in the first half but avoided punishment, meaning his late yellow card ultimately mattered little.

Asked for his thoughts after the game, Arteta initially argued that Rice, who inadvertently flicked the ball before making a clear attempt to kick it away, did not intentionally delay the restart, which was the official reason given for his dismissal.

“I was amazed,” he said. “Amazed, amazed, amazed. The ball hits Declan’s heel, he doesn’t see the player. At this level, honestly I am amazed.”

Later, Arteta hit out at the “inconsistency” from referee Chris Kavanagh for his failure to caution Pedro in the first half.

“In the first half when the opponents did that they didn’t get any booking,” the Arsenal boss told MOTD. “He makes the call by law in a non-critical area of the pitch when the ball hit the heel when turning around, to make that decision… by law he can do it, but be consistent. If that is the case, they should have a man sent off and then it is 10 vs 10.

“Amazing, the team and the reaction of the crowd [after going a man down]. We created two big chances one vs one and we should have won the game.”

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