Tensions are running high as Arsenal look to dethrone Manchester City and win their first Premier League title since 2004. Tottenham, meanwhile, are looking to recover from their faultering start and seal a top-four finish, as are Chelsea, who are showing signs of improvement under Enzo Maresca.
A recent poll by football.london has asked readers which of the traditional big six they think benefits most from refereeing decisions. Chelsea had the fewest vote share, with only five people picking them, whilst Man City had the most at 605.
Arsenal meanwhile had nine whilst Tottenham had 11. Liverpool had 72, whilst Manchester United had 59 votes.
Several controversial decisions have been made so far this season involving Arsenal. Declan Rice was sent off for delaying the restart against Brighton in August, whilst Leandro Trossard was shown his marching orders for something similar against City last month.
Of those who were asked if they think rules around kicking the ball away are too harsh, 215 said yes whilst 478 said the rule is fine but the referee interpreted it wrongly against the Gunners. 83 people meanwhile said no and that Rice and Trossard should have been more careful.
Refereeing satisfaction has been a bone of contention for some time and the latest statistics gathered from Arsenal fans read grim reading for officials. Of those asked, 374 said the officiating was awful, whilst 323 chose poor. Just 65 voted good and 13 said brilliant.
Another topic which has caused widespread dissatisfaction is VAR. Of those asked if it was fit for purpose, 480 said no, with 277 voting yes.
Fans were also asked how worried they were that poor refereeing and VAR could cost Arsenal the Premier League title. 417 said they were very worried, 264 said a bit worried, 73 said not too worried, whilst just eight said they fully trust the refs and VAR
Arsenal's so-called ‘dark arts’ under Mikel Arteta has also been a theme this season. The Gunners were accused of time wasting in the 2-2 draw against Man City.
538 said they think it's great and there's nothing wrong with it. 147 said it’s fine but they would rather they didn’t use them. 61 said they don't like to see Arsenal use ‘dark arts’ to win games, whilst 22 said it’s awful and referees should clamp down on it.
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