Shearer backs VAR decision to spare Rice red card in Arsenal's 3-0 collapse at Brighton

Declan Rice escaped with a yellow card after kicking out at Brighton’s Malick Yalcouye in stoppage time of Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium on Saturday — and Alan Shearer believes the officials made the right call.

Rice was driving forward in the sixth minute of added time when Yalcouye nudged him, prompting the Arsenal midfielder to kick back at the Brighton player, who fell to the ground. On-field referee Darren England blew for a foul as home supporters chanted for a dismissal, but produced a yellow rather than a red. VAR official Tim Wood is understood to have reviewed the incident and declined to recommend an on-field check.

Speaking on Match of the Day, Shearer was clear in his assessment. “This was frustration from Declan Rice. Yalcouye gives him a little nudge there and I do think the referee gets that right,” he said. “He gives him the yellow card, I don’t think it was too aggressive; he didn’t lash out at him. Therefore, I think the referee got that right, but it sort of summed Arsenal’s day up.”

Shearer was equally blunt about the broader performance. “They’ve been beaten, they’ve been well beaten. It could have been six or seven,” he added. “I would say there’s no panic because after five games last season, Arsenal had 10 points. After five games this season, they’ve got 12 points. But that performance can’t happen too many times, if again.”

Rice’s yellow card means he remains available for Arsenal’s next Premier League fixture, at home to Leeds on 10 October after the international break.

Manager Mikel Arteta did not attempt to deflect blame, describing the result as a “big lesson” and conceding Brighton were the better side throughout. “From our side, there were certain basics you need to accomplish in football, especially in the Premier League, that we were very far from,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference. “Winning the first duel, the second ball — that put the game, especially how direct they were, in a really difficult place for us.”

Arteta acknowledged that Arsenal had occasional moments of control but lacked the quality to convert them. “When we had moments of dominance and control, we did open them up, but we didn’t finish those actions with the quality that is required,” he said.

The defeat leaves Arsenal second in the Premier League table, a position that could change depending on Manchester City’s result at home to Sunderland on Sunday.