Michael Oliver has been announced as the referee for the match between Arsenal and Manchester City at the weekend, which has some fans concerned.

The statistics show that the Gunners don’t have a very good win rate with Oliver in charge.

According to the Mirror, the Gunners have only won 20% of their matches refereed by the 32-year-old. That’s certainly not a good sign, especially considering City are in such good form, and the Gunners will need all the help they can get.

However, I’m going to put forward a different viewpoint, that maybe the appointment isn’t such a bad sign.

Firstly, I think Oliver is one of the best referees around.

When I watch him in charge of any other team’s match, I rarely see him make a mistake, and I don’t recall ever thinking he was biased against Arsenal in a particular match either.

Also, the only Arsenal match he’s refereed this season was one of our better results, a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge. I can’t recall too many complaints about him on that occasion.

Finally, the only time we’ve ever played against Manchester City with Oliver in charge, we won 3-0.

Not only that, but the last time he took over a match of ours in Manchester was our 2-1 win over Manchester United, when he sent off Di Maria.

Personally, I’m not seeing the issue.