Arsenal’s week from hell revealed as Gunners face three nightmare trips within eight days… and without Declan Rice

IN just 24 hours Arsenal have gone from stealing Sterling to the penny dropping  – on the prospect of a brutal trio of trips.

And the Gunners will face their eight-day away nightmare with the extra woe of Declan Rice being banned for one match after his first ever red card.

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Boss Mikel Arteta and Co were frustrated after drawing vs Brighton[/caption]

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Declan Rice protested in vain after his first red card in 245 Prem matches[/caption]

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 the softest of second bookings – after 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 travel to champions Manchester City.

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Arteta spoke out strongly afterwards on refereeing ‘inconsistency’[/caption]

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Pep Guardiola’s team made it three wins in three games with Saturday’s 3-1 victory at West Ham.

And although it’s surely too early to talk about pivotal periods for any club, the mood around the Emirates – buyed by Sterling’s arrival – could swing violently, depending how well or badly, 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 main midfielder 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.”