Robert Madley doesn’t have that much experience refereeing Arsenal but what experience he does have seems promising.

In the four games Madley has been in charge of, we’ve won all four. Saying this, we’ve been awarded eight yellow cards in those games and only had five awarded to the opposition, but the result is what counts. And not picking up more injuries. That too.

Assistant referees on Saturday are Perry and Kirkup, while the fourth official (for what it matters) is Simpson.

Looking towards referee stats for relief may be clutching at straws but at the moment it feels as if anything could help, especially when it comes to bad luck. Although our performance against Norwich was uninspiring, our loss against West Brom could have been prevented by a few decisions going our way.

I’m not sure whether players actively seek out information on referees before a match. I highly doubt it in fact. However, the boss might do and having a ref who isn’t out to screw us over would be preferential.