Declan Rice kicked and dropped Brighton star in shocking outburst during embarrassing loss for Arsenal

Declan Rice sent a Brighton player flying with a vicious kick.

Arsenal suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to ‘The Seagulls’ at the American Express Stadium

Declan Rice kicked Malick Yalcouye

Declan Rice narrowly avoided what appeared to be a clear red when he lashed out at Malick Yalcouye.

Arsenal had looked tremendous throughout the 2026/27 campaign going into the game, but their flawless record came tumbling down in dramatic fashion against Brighton.

And it appeared that the frustrations of the match took a major toll on Rice.

In the dying moments of the fixture, he clashed with a rival player.

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When Malick Yalcouye leaned into the England star, nudging him to one side, Rice let his emotions get the better of him.

He chased after Yalcouye, kicking his legs from underneath him, knocking the Brighton star towards the ground.

Stunned by what had occurred, talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook said on commentary: “Declan Rice goes through the back of Yalcouye off the ball. That looked a bit nasty.”

His co-commentator, Troy Deeney, added: “Declan’s just lost his temper there. There’s no real need for it; there’s a little push in the back. And as Yalcouye walks across him, he has a little swipe at his legs.”

This prompted Crook to ask: “Is that not a red card?

Deeney responded: “You’d have to ask Mikel Arteta if he’d want that as a red card after his conference last week about referees.”

Why didn’t Declan Rice get a red card against Brighton?

While Deeney ultimately conceded that he thinks Rice should’ve been sent off, it appears the 27-year-old could only have received a maximum punishment of a yellow card, for the incident, which was cleared by VAR.

According to talkSPORT, VAR judged that it did not meet the threshold for violent conduct, considering it to be petulant at worst.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Featured Image Credit: Getty