Declan Rice has expressed his regret and shock after receiving the first red card of his career during a hard-fought match against Brighton on Saturday.
The midfielder was sent off early in the second half for what was deemed a time-wasting offence, marking a surprising end to his 245th Premier League appearance with being shown his marching orders.
Reflecting on the incident, Rice admitted he was taken aback by the decision. “I was shocked, I think you could see it in my face,” he said as Arsenal.com reported. “I’ve not sprinted back in front of him and smashed the ball away. I’ve touched the ball with the outside of my foot.
“But look, this is the laws of the game. If you touch the ball away, even a little bit, obviously it’s a red card after my challenge in the first half, which I fully accept was a 50-50 that I didn’t win.”
Despite the setback, Rice praised his teammates for their resilience and determination. “It was tough, but the lads did amasingly well in the second half to dig it out, to fight with our fans, and in the end that’s a really good point against a team that are in really good form at the minute,” he noted.
The dismissal came as Rice nudged the ball away following a Brighton free-kick, an action he deemed harsh given the circumstances. “The second half one, especially with it being in the corner flag, they can't really progress anywhere from there.
“It was tough, it was harsh, but it's one of those things. I have to move on from it, I will be better for it, and I can only praise the players for digging deep for me, and the manager for pushing everyone.”
Watching the remainder of the game from the sidelines, Rice was impressed by his team's performance. “I was up off my seat when those big two chances came. David [de Gea] made another big save for us. To even generate those chances, from where we were, shows the desire of the boys. 1-1 in the end is not ideal because we want to win every game, that’s what we strive for and believe we can do.”
Rice was quick to apologise to his teammates and the fans, acknowledging the sense of guilt that comes with being sent off. “I just wanted to apologise obviously to my teammates, which I’ve done, and to the fans. When you get sent off, it’s never nice, you get a sense of guilt over you, and I was lucky today that my teammates really helped me out and we didn’t lose the game.”
He assured supporters that he would learn from this experience and return stronger. “I’ll learn from it, I really appreciate the fans’ support as always – it’s not in my nature really to get red cards. I’ll see where I can be better, and I’ll be back for sure.”
Comments