Rob Jones will referee the north London derby this weekend, in only the fifth Arsenal match he’s officiated.

The Premier League have announced the picks for the officiating teams this weekend, including Arsenal’s Sunday game against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium.

Rob Jones is set to referee the match, assisted by Lee Betts and Wade Smith. The fourth official will be Michael Salisbury, with Paul Tierney on VAR and Harry Lennard assisting him.

The choice is an interesting one, with Jones relatively inexperienced when it comes to Arsenal and Spurs matches.

The referee has only taken charge of four Arsenal games and three Spurs games, making quite the contrast from the other referees who have covered recent north London derbies.

Craig Pawson refereed the derby in January 2023 and the one in September 2021, and he’s covered 29 Arsenal games and 31 Spurs games overall.

Anthony Taylor took last October’s game at the Emirates, and he’s up to 48 Arsenal games and 43 Spurs games.

Paul Tierney had the game in May 2022, and he’s refereed 17 Arsenal games and 20 Spurs games.

By comparison, Jones is almost a complete newcomer, with just seven games between the two teams combined.

Jones had a very poor reputation with Arsenal fans following last season’s away game against Southampton, letting a number of fouls and a credible penalty shout go without punishment. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

But Arsenal have won all of the other games Jones has officiated, including the 3-1 win over Chelsea in May.

As for Spurs, Jones refereed two wins for Sunday’s away side in 2021/22, but the only game he’s taken since then was Spurs’ opening weekend draw with Brentford in August.