Mikel Arteta admits Declan Rice red card left him ‘hacked off’ in Arsenal’s draw with Brighton last year

Looking to fly out of the traps in the early stages of last season, Arsenal repeatedly found themselves down to ten men as they pushed to make an impression under Arteta’s stewardship.

While the Gunners were consistent when it came to winning matches, emerging victorious in five of their opening eight league games, they also saw Leandro Trossard sent off in the breathless 2-2 draw with Manchester City in September 2024, while William Saliba received his marching orders in the 2-0 loss at Bournemouth in October of the same year.

In a 2024-25 season which saw Arsenal finish second in the league for the third campaign in a row, Arteta’s fired-up charges received six red cards over the course of their 38 fixtures - at least three more than any other side.

Another dismissal which came inside Arsenal’s opening eight league fixtures last season involved star midfielder Rice, who received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away as Brighton defender Joel Veltman prepared to take a free-kick.

Deemed to be an act of time wasting by referee Chris Kavanagh, Rice received his marching orders as Arsenal - who led through a first-half goal from Kai Havertz - saw Brighton make their extra man advantage count as Joao Pedro earned the visitors a share of the spoils in north London.

And Rice’s sending off is something which still rankles with Arteta, who has recalled the incident ahead of the meeting between Arsenal and Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton this weekend.

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"I remember very well,” said Arteta when asked about Rice’s red card in his pre-match press conference. “I was very hacked off in the manner that we played with 10 men. So hopefully it is going to be very different this time.

"I think the rules are different now. So, we paid a big price with that rule, and hopefully that stays away and we continue to play with 11 players.”

But when it was brought to Arteta’s attention that his players have been exemplary in 2025-26 - with the 13-time league champions having received 22 yellow cards and no reds in their 17 fixtures - the Spaniard admitted he “didn’t know” Arsenal’s disciplinary record was that good.

Once aware of the fact, he simply added: “That is good, very good.”

Arsenal are looking to secure a win which will ensure they remain at the league summit when they lock horns with Brighton, with title rivals Manchester City travelling to Nottingham Forest earlier on Saturday.

Arteta’s men are currently on a four-game winning run in all competitions, earning triumphs over Club Brugge, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton and Crystal Palace across the league, Champions League and Carabao Cup respectively.

Daring his team-mates to dream big in 2025-26, Arsenal defender Saliba believes his side have what it takes to win the quadruple this season, saying ahead of Brighton’s visit: “Yes, of course [we can compete for multiple trophies], because we know that in every competition we play, we know we can win it.

"We have been close in the Premier League in the past three seasons, and last season we were in the semi-finals of the Champions League and the Carabao Cup, so we know that we can win every competition. But we have to show that on the pitch and we have to start winning trophies now.

"We are in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup so there are three games left for us, and we have to do the job in January against Chelsea. It will be a big game, a big derby, so we have to keep going. We know that we are close and we have to learn the lessons from last season.

"At the end of your career we count our trophies, and the Carabao Cup is one of them - and now we are in the semi-final and of course we want to win this competition, like every competition that we play.”

Following the game against Brighton, Arsenal will see out 2025 with another home match against high-flying Aston Villa on Tuesday, 30 December. Unai Emery’s Villans are currently third in the league table, three points behind the Gunners.

Speaking after his side’s penalty shootout win over Palace on Tuesday - a victory which set up a two-legged tie with Chelsea in the semi-finals of the League Cup - Arteta said: “I’m very happy. We’re in the semi-final, it’s where we wanted to be. 

“I’m really happy considering the amount of changes that we’ve made – the cohesion and the energy and the quality that the team showed against a team that is very, very well organised and concedes very few chances. We generated a lot and the margin should have been much bigger after 94 minutes.”