Joel Veltman has praised Declan Rice for his reaction in the aftermath of his controversial sending off against Brighton.
The Arsenal midfield linchpin was given his marching orders in last month’s tempestuous 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium and will serve a one-match suspension against Tottenham on Sunday.
Rice was given a second yellow card during the early stages of the second half against the Seagulls after he prevented Vetlman from taking a quick free-kick by nudging the ball away from his opponent.
The former West Ham skipper looed astonished when referee Chris Kavanagh dismissed him despite having made only the merest contact with the ball before receiving a kick from Veltman that he assumed would result in the Dutchman receiving at least a caution.
Rice subsequently accepted his punishment and vowed to learn a key lesson from an act of petulance, however minor, that has ruled him out of one his club’s biggest games of the season.
Veltman, meanwhile, was impressed with the way Rice accepted his punishment and also hit back at accusations that he tried to get the Arsenal man sent off.
He told Sky Sports: ‘For me it goes really far with commenting on social media. We have a new game day coming up so I don’t want to say a lot about it.
‘The only thing I can say about it is I didn’t want to kick him. As he kicked it away I kicked him. I find it quite harsh, if you look back at my reaction I was not going to the referee and asking for a second yellow.
‘I was going why did you kick it and I’m sorry I kicked you. I think he gave an amazing comment that’s what personally surprised me about him.
‘He said I don’t need to kick it, I should know better. That’s amazing personality from him.’
Arsenal were unable to appeal the decision given Rice’s red card was the result of two yellow cards, but the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel confirmed on Tuesday that Kavanagh made the right call.
‘Rice knows what he’s doing – it’s a gentle touch, but once the referee sees it he has no choice,’ they said.
As well as missing Rice, Arsenal will also be without Mikel Merino against Spurs through injury, while the Gunners are waiting for an update on the damage sustained by skipper Martin Odegaard who sprained his ankle playing for Norway on Monday.
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