Declan Rice Learns His Fate as Arsenal Suffer Another Setback

Arsenal have been handed a lengthy break after suffering their first defeat of the season.

The Premier League champions were beaten 3-0 by Brighton at the Amex on Saturday, with Pascal Gross, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andres all finding the net for the hosts.

It was a frustrating afternoon for Mikel Arteta’s side, who now have around three weeks to regroup before returning to Premier League action against Leeds at the Emirates on October 10.

The international break will give Arteta some time to work with the players who remain in London, although several members of his squad will be away on international duty.

One of the biggest talking points from the Brighton defeat was an incident involving Declan Rice late in the game.

Declan Rice avoids punishment

Rice escaped a red card after appearing to lash out at Brighton midfielder Malick Yalcouye during stoppage time.

The incident sparked plenty of discussion after the final whistle, but former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes the decision not to send Rice off was the correct one.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, Gallagher explained that the incident did not meet the threshold for violent conduct.

“I think it’s petulant. What you’ve got to remember is that it’s got to be deemed violent conduct,” Gallagher said.

“Is that brutal or malicious? I think not. He runs a risk, there’s no doubt about that. For me, that’s not an act of violence. It’s a very unwise thing to do, but the referee got it right.”

Alan Shearer had previously expressed a similar view, saying he did not believe the incident was worthy of a red card.

That means Rice will not face any additional punishment over the incident.

However, the midfielder will still miss the upcoming international fixtures after withdrawing from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad as part of a workload management decision.

Hincapie handed international blow

Rice isn’t the only Arsenal player who will be watching the international action from home.

Piero Hincapie has been left out of Ecuador’s squad for the upcoming international window.

The defender is among a number of notable omissions, with Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo and Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez also missing from the squad.

Reports from South America suggest that injuries and physical issues are behind the decision to leave the trio out.

Hincapie was an unused substitute during Arsenal’s defeat to Brighton and has not featured for the Gunners since their Champions League meeting with Napoli on September 9.

Ecuador are due to face South Korea on September 24 as part of their upcoming international schedule. The matches will also give new manager Marcelo Gallardo an opportunity to assess his squad after taking over from Sebastian Beccacece following the World Cup.

For Arsenal, the hope will be that their players who do travel for international duty return to north London in good condition.

With a demanding run of fixtures coming up in October, Arteta will need as many of his key players available as possible.