Andre Marriner will be the VAR against Sheffield United at the Emirates on Sunday, his second Arsenal league match in a row.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 26: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur interacts with Referee Andre Marriner after the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on July 26, 2020 in London, England.Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Ian Walton/Pool via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 26: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur interacts with Referee Andre Marriner after the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on July 26, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Pool via Getty Images)

Lee Mason will take charge of the game with Mark Scholes (assistant VAR for the Liverpool game) and Timothy Wood on the line. Robert Jones, recently promoted, will be the fourth official.

In charge of Var will be Andre ‘no, it was the Ox’ Marriner, assisted by Peter Kirkup.

Lee Mason only took charge of one Arsenal game last season, our 4-0 win over Newcastle on 16 February when he managed to book two Arsenal players (Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka) and no Newcastle players.

Mason took charge of two Sheffield United games last season; both 1-0 home defeats (Southampton and Manchester City).

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JULY 09: Referee Lee Mason reaches for his yellow card during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Southampton FC at Goodison Park on July 09, 2020 in Liverpool, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JULY 09: Referee Lee Mason reaches for his yellow card during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Southampton FC at Goodison Park on July 09, 2020 in Liverpool, England.  (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

As for Marriner, Arsenal saw little of him last season as he was involved in even fewer games than Mason (four involvements vs Mason’s 5). Marriner didn’t referee a single Arsenal game last season but was fourth official three times and on VAR once.

His involvement on Sunday will mean 50% of Arsenal’s Premier League games this season have had him in charge of the VAR monitor. He was also referee for our Community Shield win over Liverpool.

Martin Atkinson, who was in charge of more Arsenal games than any other last season (10 involvements overall, 7 as ref, two as fourth and one as VAR), has yet to play any role in any Arsenal match this season.

Long may that continue.