England internationals Declan Rice and Morgan Rogers were involved in a heated confrontation during Arsenal’s 2-1 derby victory over Chelsea.
Rice, 27, and Rogers, 24, traded angry words in the second half after the Arsenal midfielder deliberately brought down Chelsea’s new signing off the ball as the visitors pushed forward looking for an equaliser.
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The flashpoint occurred in the 83rd minute, with Chelsea behind and desperately searching for a way back into the fiercely contested London derby.
Rogers had made a powerful run towards Arsenal’s penalty area, with Rice chasing after him in an attempt to stop the attack.
The Arsenal midfielder eventually caught up with the Chelsea star and appeared to trip him, bringing the move to an abrupt end.
This was the moment Morgan Rogers and Palmer were breaking forward. Declan Rice deliberately put his leg across Rogers multiple times until Rogers eventually went down, leaving Palmer alone in the attack.
That’s why Rogers was so angry it is completely intentional.
And the…
— SHAYEE (@tiier_1st) September 6, 2026
Rogers believed Rice had intentionally stopped him and reacted furiously to the challenge.
The Chelsea forward quickly got back to his feet and confronted Rice, with the two England team-mates going face-to-face before Rogers pushed the former West Ham midfielder.
Their team-mates soon intervened to separate the pair, but Rogers was the only player booked for his reaction, while Rice escaped punishment.
Morgan Rogers made a great run through the middle and was tracked by Declan Rice – who clearly clearly tripped him.
It was unseen by Referee Chris Kavanagh and Morgan Rogers wasn’t happy.
He went for Declan Rice and ended up getting a yellow card for for adopting an aggressive attitude towards Rice.
Declan Rice should have got the yellow card in the first place, which went unseen.
Unfortunately VAR cannot get involved in cautionary offenses, but you would have thought the assistant on that side may have seen it and may have helped him.
It was unfortunate that Rogers got the yellow card, but with the aggressive attitude towards Rice, that’s the way it is.
While Rogers and Chelsea supporters may feel the decision was unfair, former Premier League referee Mark Halsey explained that Rice would have received no more than a yellow card had the foul been spotted.
He told SunSport: “Rice’s foul on Rogers was missed by the referee.
“It would have only been a yellow card and VAR can’t get involved in an incident for that.”
Rogers had earlier put Chelsea in front inside the opening two minutes of the London derby, producing a superb volley beyond David Raya before celebrating by sticking his tongue out towards the home supporters.
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However, Arsenal ultimately had the final say, claiming all three points after Kai Havertz restored parity before Martin Odegaard netted the winning goal.
Rogers and Rice were both influential during England’s run to third place at last summer’s 2026 World Cup, giving the Three Lions their best finish since lifting the trophy in 1966.
Interestingly, the pair could have ended up at the same club during the summer transfer window, with Arsenal initially identifying Rogers as their main target.
Chelsea, however, moved ahead of their London rivals in the race for his signature and eventually secured the former Aston Villa star for a British and club-record £117million.
