Declan Rice was sent off in controversial fashion as Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton at Emirates Stadium.
Leading thanks to Kai Havertz's fine lobbed finish in the first half, the Gunners looked well set to go on and make it three wins from three at the start of the new Premier League season.
But, just three minutes after the intreval, Rice received a second yellow card from referee Chris Kavanagh when he nudged the ball away from Joel Veltman just as a Brighton free-kick had been awarded.
Arsenal were incensed by the decision and will rightly point to an incident in the first half when Kavanagh took no action towards Brighton's Joao Pedro, who kicked the ball away after the ball had gone out of play to prevent the hosts from taking a quick throw-in.
But Mikel Arteta's side could also have defended better themselves in the incident that led to the visitors' equaliser, with Gabriel Magalheas, William Saliba and Thomas Partey all failing to react quickly enough as Yankuba Minteh went through.
David Raya saved the initial shot, but the ball fell perfectly for Pedro who slotted home to maintain the Seagulls' unbeaten start to the season.
GOAL rates Arsenal's players from Emirates Stadium...
Arsenal v Brighton Timber
Goalkeeper & Defence
David Raya (8/10):
Another excellent display. Great handling and made some fine saves. Unlucky with the goal when his stop from Minteh fell for Pedro to score.
Ben White (6/10):
Always seems to struggle against Mitoma and today was no exception.
William Saliba (7/10):
Strong display, although maybe could have reacted quicker to the threat of Minteh for the goal. It looked like he was just expecting Gabriel to make the tackle.
Gabriel Magalhaes (6/10):
Will be disappointed at missing his tackle in the build up to the equaliser. Should probably have stopped Minteh before he got his shot away.
Jurrien Timber (6/10):
Solid enough defensively, although offered very little going forward. Booked in the second half.
Midfield
Thomas Partey (5/10):
Struggled in possession. Made some good recovery tackles, but was slack with the ball at times. Could maybe have been more alert to track Joao Pedro for the equaliser.
Declan Rice (4/10):
Booked for a lunging tackle in the first half and then harshly sent off after the interval when he was deemed to have kicked the ball away. Still doesn't look up to speed after the summer and missing the north London derby through suspension won't help with that.
Martin Odegaard (6/10):
Took a hit early on and was clearly struggling after that. Never looked comfortable and was unable to dictate like usual.
Arsenal v Brighton Havertz
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Attack
Bukayo Saka (7/10):
Electric early on, but Brighton managed to quieten him down a bit. Still got the assist for Havertz's goal.
Kai Havertz (8/10):
Clinical finish before half-time. Tireless running as ever, especially after the red. Had a great chance to make it 2-1 when his shot was saved, also did superbly to set up a chance for Saka.
Leandro Trossard (5/10):
Produced one excellent cross for Odegaard in the first half, but was on the fringes of things aside from that.
Arsenal v Brighton Arteta
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Subs & Manager
Riccardo Calafiori (6/10):
Came on just after the equaliser to help tighten things up for the 10 men.
Gabriel Martinelli (6/10):
Unable to really get into the game after his introduction.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (N/A):
Replaced the tiring Timber late on.
Mikel Arteta (6/10):
Maybe waited a bit too long to bring on a sub after the red card. The equaliser came just as Calafiori was getting ready.
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