Arsenal are set to travel to face Tottenham Hotspur in an important North London Derby, and they are already facing several problems.
Mikel Arteta may have a potential crisis on his hands, as captain Martin Odegaard picked up a worrying injury during the International break, and could miss the fixture, whilst new signing Mikel Merino is also absent from the midfield.
Declan Rice is suspended following his controversial red card against Brighton, leaving Arsenal dangerously short in midfield, and fans were furious at the decision to send him off from referee Chris Kavanagh.
Arsenal fans may expect further refereeing controversies against Tottenham, as it has now been confirmed that familiar faces will be officiating the crunch fixture between the two bitter rivals.
Who is the referee and VAR for Tottenham vs Arsenal North London Derby?
The Premier League have now confirmed that Jarred Gillett will be the referee for Tottenham vs Arsenal, with Stuart Attwell on VAR.
This is somewhat surprising, given that Gillett was the referee for Arsenal’s opening day victory over Wolves, and is already officiating another Arsenal match just five games into the season.
Although Arsenal won, Gillett frustrated fans with several decisions over fouls, with Wolves lucky to escape at least one red card as Yerson Mosquera engaged in physical altercations with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.
Attwell was also the referee for a dramatic defeat to Newcastle last season which saw Arteta slam refereeing standards after the game.
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Both Gillett and Attwell have given controversial decisions against Arteta’s team separately, but this is the first time the pair will officiate an Arsenal match together since January 2022, which saw the Gunners lose in controversial circumstances.
Jarred Gillett and Stuart Attwell officiated Arsenal defeat to Manchester City in 2022
On January 1st 2022, Arsenal put in one of their most impressive performances under Arteta leading up to that point, at home to Manchester City, but came away frustrated after a 2-1 defeat.
Attwell was the referee that day, with Gillett on VAR, and both were involved in controversy. Martin Odegaard was denied a penalty after he appeared to be fouled by Ederson in the area, before Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the lead.
The refereeing team then gave Man City a very soft penalty after they claimed that Granit Xhaka had fouled Bernardo Silva, before Gabriel Magalhaes was sent off for two yellow cards, one of which was contentious.
Fans were furious as most decisions appeared to go Man City’s way before Rodri scored a last-minute winner, and assistant coach Albert Stuivenberg expressed his frustration at Attwell and Gillett after.
“It is a penalty but I am looking for consistency,” Stuivenberg stated over the Odegaard penalty claim.
“We have VAR in place so why not check yourself as a referee? That did not happen so it is disappointing.”
Both officials will now pair up for Arsenal’s trip to face Spurs, and fans will hope for a different result this time.