Bukayo Saka fumes at referee inconsistency after Arsenal defeat

Bukayo Saka has questioned the referee’s decision to send off Declan Rice during Arsenal’s disappointing draw on Saturday afternoon.

The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday in a hugely controversial contest which left many Arsenal fans fuming.

The home side managed to break the deadlock mid-way through the first-half thanks to an in-form Kai Havertz who delicately chipped the ball over the outrushing goalkeeper after a hard-earned assist from teammate Saka.

But the game was then flipped on its head when minutes after the break, Rice was shown a second yellow card after he delayed the restart by kicking the ball away as Joel Veltman attempted to take a quick free-kick.

Bukayo Saka questions controversial decision

Although a yellow card by the letter of the law, a lot of Arsenal fans pointed out that Joao Pedro dodged a booking for a more egregious attempt to delay the restart in the first half, a thought which Saka echoed.

“In the first half Joao Pedro kicked it far away, didn’t get anything for it. Dec just done little touch and he got second yellow for it. It’s a bit harsh for me.” He told the BBC after full-time.

“We just want some consistency.”

The red card which was the first of Rice’s career will unfortunately keep him out of the Gunner’s titanic clash against Spurs after the international break.

This suspension only gets worse with the news that Mikel Merino will be out for several weeks after suffering an unfortunate shoulder injury during his first training session with the club.