Premier League make official decision ahead of Arsenal vs Man City

Arsenal are now preparing for one of the biggest games of their season, taking on Manchester City on Sunday. The Gunners remain six points behind leaders Liverpool having played a game more, and they can’t afford many more slip-ups from here on out.

Mikel Arteta’s men have enjoyed a positive week, beating Wolves last weekend and following that up with a Champions League win over Girona, but this game could define their season.

City may have had a season to forget so far, but they have won their last two, defeating Chelsea 3-1 and then sweeping aside Club Brugge by the same scoreline to progress in the Champions League. The Citizens are in a battle for a top four spot, and they will want to continue their recovery here, bolstered by the new signings they have made this month, including Omar Marmoush.

As Arsenal and City prepare to do battle at the Emirates Stadium, the Premier League have confirmed that Peter Bankes will be the referee in charge of the fixture. Bankes has refereed 10 Arsenal fixtures to date, including their 3-1 win over Brentford in the Premier League this season, and their 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Preston. In all, Arsenal have seven wins, two defeats and a draw with Bankes in charge.

As for City, Bankes has refereed seven games to date, including their 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa and their 3-2 win over Fulham this season, with both of those fixtures coming in the Premier League. Of the seven, City have won only three, losing as many and drawing once.

Elsewhere on the officials panel, Eddie Smart and Nick Greenhalgh will be the assistants, while Anthony Taylor is the fourth official. Paul Tierney will operate the VAR, and Craig Taylor will be his assistant. Chelsea will be hoping to get more luck from the refereeing crew this weekend after losing Myles Lewis-Skelly to a red card last time out, a decision that was overturned on appeal.

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