'You cannot compare' - Joao Pedro incident sparks controversy as Brighton earn draw against ten-man Arsenal

Declan Rice was given his marching orders – for a second bookable offences – after he knocked the ball out of play as Joel Veltman tried to take a free-kick.

"It was a clear red card,” Hurzeler said. “It was wasting time. No two opinions.”

This incident, right at the beginning of the second half, followed a moment on the 17th minute when Pedro seemed to kick the ball towards the Arsenal goal after it had gone out of play – but he escaped punishment.

"You can't compare these two situations,” Hurzeler said. “The one with Joel is a clear free-kick – it’s a a static situation.

"The other one was a much more dynamic situation. It was not clearly out. He [Pedro] tried to keep the ball in the game. You can never compare these situations.”

In his press conference, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta implied the decision not to book Pedro represented a lack of consistency.

On Rice’s red card, he said: “The referee makes a decision which changes the course of the game. We probably should have won the game.

“It was amazing, amazing, amazing. How inconsistent decisions can be. In first half, there were two incidents but nothing happens.

"By law, he can make that call. But then he has to make the next call. Which is red card. Then it’s 10 vs 10. At this level, it’s honestly amazing.”

Hurzeler, who was booked during the Carabao Cup win over Crawley Town, saw a yellow card once again against Arsenal.

He said: “I was booked because I was complaining about tackle against Joel. Of course we can accept a yellow card.

"The referee made the decision and no one can complain. It was not about the foul but the way he was going in the dual.”

The German also assessed his side’s performance in the match.

He said: “It was a tough start for us. We suffered the first 10 / 15 minutes.

"Afterwards, we were good in the game. We had good pressing moments. We controlled the game better, in possession.

"The goal for Arsenal happens out of nowhere. It was bad defending from our side. It was just a long ball and we didn't get the second ball. That was bad.

“The second half changed because of the red card. We dominated the game completely from that moment. We created chances.

"We made it 1-1 and had the chance for the second goal. We also have to be honest that we could concede the second goal.

"We were not consistent enough in our counter pressing. In the end, it feels a bit like disappointment. Of course we wanted to win the game. We should be satisfied with the point. It's fair.”

Arteta, meanwhile, felt Arsenal had the better chances to win the game – and ‘should have been rewarded for the way we played with ten men’.