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Premier League confirm Brighton-Arsenal ref

The Premier League have confirmed their refereeing appointments for the upcoming round of fixtures, including Arsenal’s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Pedro Neto of Chelsea reacts towards Referee Darren England after showing him a red card during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on March 01, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

The Premier League have published their list of match officials for Matchweek 5 of the new season, which includes Arsenal’s game away to Brighton & Hove Albion at 3pm on Saturday, September 19th.

Darren England will referee the match, assisted by Scott Ledger and Alistair Nelson, with Michael Salisbury as the fourth official.

Tim Wood will be on VAR, with James Mainwaring as the assistant VAR for the match.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND: Referee Darren England looks on during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at St Mary's Stadium on December 15, 2024. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images

Arsenal generally have a good record with England refereeing, winning six of their eight matches, with the most recent defeat coming in 2022.

The referee has made a few major errors in Arsenal games, but they’ve largely balanced out.

As a VAR official, England incorrectly confirmed a red card to Myles Lewis-Skelly against Wolves, which was later overturned on appeal. As a referee, he gave a penalty against Lewis-Skelly in a match away to Everton, which was also later deemed an incorrect decision.

But Mikel Merino was lucky to escape a second yellow in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa last December, and Declan Rice was fortunate not to concede a penalty for handball against Chelsea in March. England was the referee on both occasions.

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND: Declan Rice of Arsenal and his teammates protest to Referee Michael Oliver after Myles Lewis-Skelly of Arsenal is shown a red card for a foul on Matt Doherty of Wolverhampton Wanderers (not pictured) during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Arsenal FC at Molineux on January 25, 2025. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

So whilst Lewis-Skelly might be wary of the referee making another mistake and incorrectly punishing him again, there won’t be major concerns from Arsenal on the whole about the choice of official for this match.

LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 08: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, looks on with a ball at his feet during the training session on day ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 at Sobha Realty Training Centre on September 08, 2026 in London Colney, England. (Photo by James Fearn/Getty Images)
Photo by James Fearn/Getty Images
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