What more can be said about the performance of referee Chris Kavanagh?
Thousands of podcast, vlog and video hours have been dedicated to the analysis of his fickle fancies, alongside miles of column inches, blog posts and social media rants.
To summarise them all (in the most sanitised way possible): Kavanagh cost us two points.
How the game would have panned out with both sides at full strength will, of course, never be known but what we do know is that, before Declan Rice’s dismissal, the Gunners were in complete control of proceedings. They may only have had a single-goal lead to show for their dominance but Brighton had been peripheral.
Once reduced to 10 men, the complexion of the game changed and, with it, the scoreline too. We may not have the counter-factual but we certainly have the compelling before and after evidence and it’s hard not to be bitter about it.
There are plenty of times when you are simply out-played and out-fought in football, no team is immune from a bad day, but it rankles with fans when matches are decided by someone or something other than the teams. A referee should never determine the outcome of a match unless it is absolutely necessary.
Sadly, Arsenal have too often been a victim of officiating over-reach and, indeed, under-reach and, while it might seem trivial in isolation, it’s worth bearing in mind that we lost the league by two points last season. The two points we dropped to Brighton take on much greater significance when framed like that.
Unfortunately, complain as we might, little will change in the Premier League until we have a new generation of professional referees and this current crop of inconsistent interferers fades away. For now, we have to put the games beyond doubt, so these sorts of interventions can’t cost us.
As it was, we had the opportunity to do just that against Brighton, even when down to 10 men.
Mid-way through the second half, Kai Havertz controlled superbly from Gabriel’s punted clearance before racing through on goal. His slightly dragged effort was well-saved by the Brighton keeper before Bukayo Saka’s follow-up was blocked by a defender.
Then, shortly after, Havertz turned provider for Saka with a low cross to the back post that the 22-year-old managed to connect with by only enough to parry straight into the grateful arms of the visiting keeper.
On both occasions, you could make a case for better finishing. In both situations, ruthlessness was required. In its absence, the chances went begging and we had to settle for the draw.
In the grand scheme of things, the draw is pretty deflating, particularly as it feels like points were stolen from us, but it could have been worse. A point is better than a defeat – just about – and we can take solace in a determined effort from the 10 men in the second half.
Thankfully, we can put some distance between ourselves and the fall out as we head into the international break but, in two weeks time, we face a stern test in the north London derby. Here’s hoping the match is settled on the pitch by the players.
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