Declan Rice escapes red card after violent conduct in heavy Brighton defeat

The Gunners were already well beaten at the Amex Stadium when Rice lost his composure in the final seconds.

Brighton midfielder Malick Yalcouye made slight contact with him, prompting the England international to chase the player down and swipe at his legs, sending him to the ground.

Yalcouye fell to the turf and appealed towards referee Darren England, who saw the incident and gave Rice a yellow card.

Rice could consider himself lucky that he escaped further punishment after incidents involving Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Aston Villa’s Joao Gomes this season.

Foden was sent off for kicking out at Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes last weekend, while Gomes received a red card following a VAR review for kicking Brighton’s Georginio Rutter.

The decision has sparked debate. Former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy insisted it should have been a red card, saying:

“He’s a lucky boy… he boots him off the ball. It’s 100 per cent worse [than recent comparable incidents].”

The 3-0 loss was Arsenal’s heaviest defeat in over three years and ended their perfect start to the Premier League season.

The Gunners had conceded just one goal all campaign before being torn apart by Fabian Hurzeler’s side.