Michael Oliver will officiate Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Chelsea on Saturday and its safe to say, Gunners fans aren’t exactly ecstatic about the news – the north London outfit’s record in Premier League fixtures the 32-year-old has overseen is far from exemplary.
And even more worryingly for Arsene Wenger’s side, the statistics suggest it will be another difficult afternoon for the Gunners when Oliver referees their Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday.
For starters, despite often being seen as a referee who makes controversial decisions, Oliver actually ranked 16th for fouls per tackle and 14th for fouls per game last season. That directly plays into Chelsea’s hands; Antonio Conte’s side have committed the most fouls of any Premier League team this term and also average two more tackles per match than Arsenal, so Oliver’s returns from 2016/17 hint at a natural leniency towards the Blues’ more aggressive style off the ball – something that’s always key to stopping Arsenal’s intricate build-up play.
Furthermore and perhaps most crucially, a whopping 67% of the games Oliver oversaw last season ended in home wins, the most of any referee to be involved in more than eight fixtures. Whether or not that suggests Oliver is naturally swayed by the home crowd, it inevitably gives Chelsea another boost ahead of hosting Arsenal on Sunday.
The other major talking point is, of course, Oliver’s knack of awarding penalties, dishing out almost one every two matches last season and ranking first for penalties per match throughout the Premier League. So far this term, Oliver has awarded one from three games; according to the statistics, then, he’s due another one this weekend.
