Arsenal are set to take on Wolves on the opening day of the Premier League season, but frustration is already brewing.
Mikel Arteta’s side enjoyed a productive pre-season campaign, with dominant victories over Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon in the Emirates Cup setting them up well for a fast start.
Arsenal do face a nightmare opening month in terms of fixtures, as they will travel to Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in their first three away games.
This means that a win against Wolves to start their campaign the right way is imperative, but it will not be a straightforward task against Gary O’Neill’s team.
Arsenal fans are now convinced the game will be much more difficult than previously anticipated, as the Premier League have confirmed the match officials for the first game week of the season, and the bitter relationship between the Gunners and PGMOL referees has clearly not softened over the summer.
Arsenal fans furious as Jarred Gillett and Paul Tierney to referee Wolves clash
The Premier League have confirmed that Jarred Gillett will be the referee for Arsenal vs Wolves on 17th August, with Paul Tierney on VAR duties.
Fans have taken to X to voice their frustrations, given the previous controversial history Arsenal have with both officials.
“Awful start to a promising season,” one fan posted.
“Congrats in advance on your 3 penalties Wolves,” another stated.
“That‘s the guy from the Villa game last november Yeah we‘re done for,” a fan pointed out.
“I don’t think there could have been a worse pairing for us to get. My goodness,” a fan lamented.
Arsenal’s controversial history with Jarred Gillett and Paul Tierney
As a referee as well as a VAR assistant, Jarred Gillett has been involved in some controversial Arsenal decisions.
Last season, Kai Havertz had a penalty retracted against Manchester United as a result of Gillett’s decision, and this came just weeks after the referee awarded a bizarre red card to Takehiro Tomiyasu away at Crystal Palace.
Gillett was on VAR duties in Arsenal’s 1-0 loss to Aston Villa last season, in which Havertz had a last-minute goal disallowed, and fans were unhappy with several decisions made over the course of the game.
Gillett was also marked as controversial after it emerged that he was a Liverpool fan, with the reds competing with Arsenal for the title last season, whilst Tierney has sparked anger before.
When Arsenal were beaten 3-1 at Manchester United in September 2022, Tierney disallowed a goal from Gabriel Martinelli, as he deemed that Martin Odegaard had fouled Christian Eriksen in the build-up. However, this was an incredibly soft decision, and one that Mikel Arteta was fuming about at the time.
