IN just 24 hours Arsenal have gone from stealing Sterling to the penny dropping – on the prospect of three brutal trips in eight days.
And the Gunners will face their travel nightmare with main midfielder Declan Rice banned for one match after his first ever red card.
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A day after Arsenal borrowed Chelsea attacker Raheem Sterling for the season, Brighton ended the Gunners’ 100% Premier League record with a 1-1 comeback draw at the Emirates.
And Rice’s contentious dismissal was the turning point.
Bukayo Saka lobbed the Gunners in front but his England team-mate was sent off for a soft second booking – nudging the ball away to stop the Seagulls taking a quick free-kick.
Joao Pedro then rewarded Brighton’s growing pressure with a point-saver.
Saturday’s setback for Mikel Arteta‘s men comes ahead of what could be their toughest spurt of fixtures in the whole season.
Arsenal resume after the international break with a visit to their biggest rivals Tottenham on Sunday, September 15.
Then comes Arsenal’s Champions League group opener four days later – at Serie A side Atalanta.
And the following Sunday, September 22, the Gunners are at the Etihad against champions Manchester City.
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Pep Guardiola’s team made it three wins in three Prem games with Saturday’s 3-1 victory at West Ham.
And although it’s surely too early in the campaign to talk about pivotal periods, the mood around the Emirates – buoyed by Sterling’s arrival – could swing violently, depending on how Arsenal’s testing trio of games go.
It means Arteta will quickly have to turn his resentment at Rice’s red card into a rousing rev-up for his squad.
The Spaniard claimed Brighton got away with kicking the ball away – before his £105million star picked up a costly second caution for a similar offence.
Arteta said: “If it [bookings] happens throughout the game in a consistent way it is fine but it didn’t. It is the inconsistency.”
And asked if he’d had an explanation afterwards, he replied: “None, like always.”
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