Michael Oliver will referee Arsenal vs Manchester City next week, with the highly-anticipated match expected to decide the winner of this season's Premier League title.
City currently sit just four points behind the Gunners, with a game in hand, as two draws in consecutive matches for Arsenal have piled pressure on Mikel Arteta's side in their title challenge. A win for Pep Guardiola's side could be a disaster for Arsenal's bid for a first league title in 19 years, meaning that the stakes could not be higher.
Such matches call for top-level officiating; with Michael Oliver chosen to officiate the match, which takes place at the Etihad Stadium next Wednesday night. Oliver was one of the English officials selected to officiate at the Qatar World Cup and is part of UEFA's elite group of referees.
While there is no suggestion that there is any bias from Oliver, the team's record with him officiating does not bode well for the league leaders, with 16 Premier League losses with the 38-year-old in charge. Meanwhile, in contrast, City have won 31 times with Oliver in charge, the most in the league.
However, this could have something to do with City's record in the league since Oliver's promotion to the Premier League select group in 2010, with their six league titles in that time.
This is also reflected in the fact that Arsenal have won all four matches with Oliver in the middle this season. Arsenal fans appear to be on board with the decision, although some have questioned the call to appoint David Coote as the VAR official.
Since the announcement was made, many fans are pointing out that there is far more reason to be concerned with the appointment of Coote.
This comes just days after Coote was the man in the when a controversial decision not to award handball in the build-up to a match changing penalty for West Ham against the Gunners in their 2-2 draw on Sunday.
Once again, the spotlight is expected to be firmly on VAR and the match officials should there be any levels of contention in what is one of the biggest matches of any title races in recent years. However, with an increase in abuse towards match officials at all levels of the game, there is cause to focus on the performances of two exceptional teams, rather than the match officials.
