Martin Atkinson has been chosen to referee Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool on Sunday and Gooners are pretty annoyed.
Atkinson is set to officiate Arsenal’s match at Anfield, which kicks off at 4pm on Sunday, and considering his track record when it comes to refereeing the Gunners, it’s understandable that fans aren’t exactly thrilled with the appointment.
Last season, the 46-year-old missed two offsides, which led to two goals during Arsenal’s 2-1 loss against Manchester City at the Etihad.
Out of the four Chelsea v Arsenal matches he’s been in charge off, the Gunners have lost all of them.
In the 17 Arsenal away games Atkinson has refereed, the Gunners have won just five and lost nine. Compare this with the Liverpool home games the West Yorshireman has been in charge of – also 17 – and the amount they’ve lost, which is just four, and it’s not looking like it’ll be a fun trip for Arsenal this weekend.
Here’s how Arsenal fans reacted on Twitter following the news.
#afc games with Atkinson since 2014:
0-3 Everton
0-2 Chelsea
2-1 QPR
1-2 Spurs
1-1 Spurs
0-2 W Ham
2-1 Leicester
1-2 Man City
3-0 W Ham pic.twitter.com/LhnbOO86Lg— afcstuff (@afcstuff) August 22, 2017
— Chaxx (@chaxx47) August 22, 2017
Atkinson is our hater.
— Laca (@Etiwils4) August 22, 2017
Let’s hope he knows onside and offside
— lance The GOONER 71 (@SurreyBarber) August 22, 2017
well thats the game gone already.
— Nikhil Judge (@NikhilJudge) August 22, 2017
DAMNIT!!!
— Devön Lewöw (@Devon4Real) August 22, 2017
Liverpool win then
— Graham Charlton (@BigG_14) August 22, 2017
Xhaka sent off 😟😟
— Pius Shungu (@PiusShungu) August 22, 2017
Oh god
— Paul Dennis (@pauldennis14) August 22, 2017
Of course he fucking will….
— JetCite (@JetCite) August 22, 2017
For fuck sake 😤
— Bikram Parhar (@BikramParhar) August 22, 2017
Annoyingly, the result might not even hinge on Atkinson’s competence, or lack thereof, come Sunday.
Arsenal weren’t exactly inspiring away at Stoke last weekend and while Liverpool haven’t exactly been convincing either during their two fixtures this season, they’ve managed to win a point more than the Gunners.
Refereeing decision have already been going against us this term. Hopefully there are no blunders against Jurgen Klopp’s side. We can’t afford it.