Arsenal fans fear they’ve ‘already lost’ against Chelsea after Premier League confirm referee choice

Arsenal fans have been left fearing the worst after Michael Oliver was confirmed as the referee for Sunday’s Premier League showdown against Chelesa.

The Gunners lost more ground in the title race race last weekend after they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park against Newcastle United.

Following a recent setback against Bournemouth and the loss of two points at home against Liverpool, Arteta’s side can ill-afford to drop more points if they are to go one better than last season.

Stamford Bridge has been a relatively happy hunting ground in recent years but hopes of getting back on track have, according to supporters, hardly been boosted by the news that Michael Oliver will take charge of this weekend’s north London derby.

Arsenal fans were furious with Oliver back in September when he took charge of their game against Manchester City and sent off Leandro Trossard on the stroke of half time for a second bookable offence.

The Belgium international was deemed to have delayed the restart after he kicked the ball away having been penalised for a foul on Bernardo Silva.

Arteta’s men dug in bravely with 10 men for the whole of the second period and came within a whisker of a famous win, only for John Stones to rescue the champions with a 97th minute equaliser.

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Oliver hasn’t taken charge of an Arsenal game since, but will be back on duty, making the key decision against the Blues, much to the disdain of many Gooners.

‘Place your bets, arsenal to get a red card and Chelsea to get a pen,’ said one pessimistic fan on X, while another added ‘Baffles me how he gets all the big games. He was a competent ref until VAR was introduced’.

‘How does he get crucial games after making so many errors,’ said one disillusioned supporter.

‘Here comes the ref who screws up every time in a big game fixture,’ said another disbelieving fan. ‘Gave two yellows to Martinelli, Trossard red this season, unnecessary penalty in Man Utd game etc.

‘Still I hope the team plays better than the last two outings and don’t give this ref a chance.’

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