Arsenal fans ‘lost respect’ for ex-player after role in Declan Rice red card controversy

Former Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck has come under fire from Gunners’ supporters for his involvement in Declan Rice’s contentious red card during the 1-1 draw with Brighton.

Rice was left in disbelief when he received his marching orders in the heated Premier League encounter, an incident where some fans felt Welbeck played a provocative role. The affair unfolded when the £105million midfielder knocked the ball away just as Brighton’s Joel Veltman was about to take a free-kick deep in his own half.

Veltman retaliated with a kick at Rice and the former West Ham captain, who had already been cautioned earlier in the game, fell to the ground amid a crowd of players from both teams. Referee Chris Kavanagh then showed Rice a second yellow followed by a red card, sending off Mikel Arteta’s man.

The reaction to the red card has been overwhelming, with opinions coming from fans, analysts, and ex-officials alike. An Arsenal fan account on social media has now also criticised Welbeck for approaching the referee to remind him that it should be Rice’s “second yellow” after the ball-kicking incident.

The Arsenal fan group PB expressed their disappointment on X, sharing a TikTok video of the red card moment which has drawn a barrage of criticism towards the former Manchester United player. The video is captioned: “Lost respect for Danny Welbeck here. See you in the next game, our players won’t forget.”

Arsenal supporters are likely to linger on with a sense of bitterness following the stalemate. Earlier in the game, Rice received his first booking for a foul on Veltman, a caution he couldn’t have argued against.

The ensuing infraction in the second half means Rice is now poised to miss out on the highly anticipated north London derby clash against Tottenham.

Amid the commotion, it’s noteworthy that this was Rice’s first dismissal in his football career and he candidly reflected on the incident after the match.

“I think from my behalf, that’s my first sending off in my career, so I just wanted to apologise obviously to my team-mates, which I’ve done, and to the fans,” he said after the game. “When you get sent off, it’s never nice, you get a sense of guilt over you, and I was lucky today that my team-mates really helped me out and we didn’t lose the game. I’ll learn from it.”

Rice also shared his surprise at Kavanagh’s decision. He added: “Yeah I was shocked, I think you could see in my face I was shocked. He’s obviously gone over, I’ve not sprinted over and smashed the ball away, I’ve touched the ball with the outside of my foot.