‘Big’: Declan Rice left in awe of £27m Arsenal player after his red card yesterday

If losing two points wasn’t bad enough for Arsenal against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, the Gunners will now be without Declan Rice for the upcoming north London derby.

Mikel Arteta will have to navigate a tricky absence when making the short trip to Tottenham Hotspur, perhaps planning to deploy Kai Havertz back in Rice’s role.

Havertz began his Arsenal career as a number eight, and may now be forced to disrupt his momentum up top given Mikel Merino is also missing through injury.

Of course, there’s also the opportunity to give Ethan Nwaneri a bold call-up to the starting eleven, but perhaps a tie against Spurs isn’t the best time for new beginnings.

That being said, Rice or not, Arteta will still be able to call upon several excellent performers when Arsenal face Tottenham, players who stood big to salvage a point on Saturday.

Declan Rice praises David Raya for another excellent Arsenal display

Speaking after his controversial red card in the second half, Rice admitted that he was still watching every moment in the dressing room.

And when reflecting on the point his teammates ultimately earned, Rice took a moment to praise David Raya for another ‘big’ showing.

READ MORE: William Saliba and John Terry send messages to Declan Rice after controversial Arsenal red card

There was a suggestion that the £27m-keeper could have done better with his initial save for Brighton’s goal, but Rice seemingly didn’t agree.

Rice said: “Yeah I was obviously watching the game from inside, I was up off my seat when those big two chances came.

“Obviously David as well who made another big save for us. Those two big chances, on another day maybe they go in, but to even generate those chances, from where we were, on the edge of our box to then be at the other end of the pitch, shows the desire of the boys.

“1-1 in the end is not ideal because we want to win every game, that’s what we strive for and believe we can do.

“Take the context out of it, we had 10 men for 50 minutes, in the end I think it’s a really strong point.

“We will keep fighting and battling, it’s only been three weeks since the start of the season, and we’re going to keep going in the right direction for sure.”

Raheem Sterling could make his Arsenal debut against Tottenham

Given Arteta will need to reshuffle his squad against Tottenham after the international break, there could be a chance for Raheem Sterling to make his debut in the north London derby.

Jamie O’Hara thinks Sterling has been treated unfairly in recent years, and perhaps this could be the perfect platform for the England international to remind all of his quality.

It won’t be easy for Sterling to compete with the likes of Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, but Arteta certainly knows what he’s getting.

And if the Spaniard wasn’t prepared to give Sterling serious game time, it seems unlikely that he would bring him to north London.

That being said, one player Arsenal didn’t pursue this summer is perhaps already making the Gunners blush.