Mikel Arteta said he was “surprised” by Declan Rice’s sending-off during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday and called for more consistency in refereeing.

Rice was sent off in the 50th minute after referee Chris Kavanagh issued a second yellow card for what the Premier League later clarified was “delaying the restart”. He tapped the ball out of the way of Joël Veltman as he went to take a free kick, leading to a collision between the two.

Veltman kicked Rice instead of the ball and Arteta felt that this should have been punished. He also referred to the fact that Joao Pedro had avoided a yellow card in the first half for kicking the ball away.