da dobrowin： Jose Mourinho certainly knows a thing or two about getting the right result against Arsenal. From his 17 encounters with the north Londoners, the Portuguese has won eight and drawn seven, but Mourinho’s magic against the Gunners is arguably starting to wane; his last four meetings have resulted in just one win and his first two defeats versus Arsene Wenger.
da brdice： Mourinho will be determined to revive his fortunes when his Manchester United side travel to the Emirates Stadium this weekend, and there’s one factor already working in his favour – the Premier League’s decision to appoint Andre Marriner as the referee.
Of course, there’s some history here; Marriner committed one of the Premier League’s most memorable refereeing gaffs when he sent off the wrong player as Mourinho’s Chelsea demolished Arsenal 6-0 in 2014.
But more crucial in regards to this weekend is Marriner’s lenient style of refereeing. He’s averaged the fewest fouls per game and the fewest fouls per tackle of any Premier League referee this season, while ranking lowly for yellow cards and penalties as well.
The stats alone suggest that’s better news for United than the home side; while the Gunners have made more tackles this season, the Red Devils have committed more fouls – so Marriner is likely to punish less of their challenges than usual.
Furthermore, though, Mourinho will know more than anybody how important physicality is in beating Arsenal. The Gunners have shown their soft underbelly countless times before and lesser teams have often claimed victories against them by putting in rugged, gritty performances.
That isn’t possible under every referee – some are more active in protecting technical talents – but Marriner has shown a level of leniency that United can well and truly take advantage of this Saturday.
However, there is a positive for Arsenal to take from Marriner’s returns this season – 70% of the matches he’s officiated have resulted in home wins.
That suggests a tendency to side with the partisan crowd when it comes to the big decisions.
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