Arsenal and Chelsea face off in the Premier League on Sunday at 4:30pm, with Darren England appointed as referee.
This will be England’s 17th Premier League game of the season, with only four referees officiating more. Five of those games have included one of Arsenal or Chelsea. England has refereed Chelsea three times so far this season, while overseeing two Arsenal matches.
Both of those Arsenal matches have been at the Emirates, while England has overseen two London derbies for Chelsea against Crystal Palace.
Arsenal will be looking to keep a strong grip of top spot while Chelsea are fighting for a top four finish.
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Darren England’s Arsenal record
England has refereed Arsenal eight times so far in his career, and they have a decent record. The Gunners have won six of those matches, drawing one and losing the other. England has given Arsenal one penalty but he has also awarded one against them. He is, however, yet to show a red card in an Arsenal game — with 10 yellows.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 8 |
| Wins | 6 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Defeats | 1 |
| League points | 16 |
| Penalties per game | 0.13 |
| Yellow cards per game | 1.25 |
| Red cards per game | 0 |
What happened when Darren England last refereed Man City?
England was the man in the middle for Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa at the end of 2025. It was a pretty uneventful game despite the four yellow cards. One of those yellow cards went to Gabriel Jesus for taking his shirt off in celebrating his goal. But he’ll have taken that all day, having endured a tough season with injuries.
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Darren England’s Chelsea record
This will be England’s eighth Chelsea game, and the fourth this season. The Blues have had mixed results in the three games so far this season, winning one, drawing one and losing one. In fact, they’ve drawn three of the seven matches so far. And one of the three wins came against non-league Morecambe in the FA Cup in 2021. But England has awarded three penalties to Chelsea, with none against them. And he’s sent off two opposition players.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 7 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Draws | 3 |
| Defeats | 1 |
| League points | 9 |
| Penalties per game | 0.43 |
| Yellow cards per game | 1.71 |
| Red cards per game | 0 |
What happened when Darren England last refereed Chelsea?
Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace in January was an eventful one. England awafrded Chelsea a controversial penalty but only after being persuaded by VAR — for an accidental handball on a shot that was going in the goal. He also sent off Adam Wharton for two yellow cards, but missed a potential red card on Pedro Neto for a bad tackle.
What should we expect from Darren England?
England sits in the middle for leniency in the Premier League, averaging 4.1 cards per game and 5.3 fouls per card. He has shown two red cards so far this season but, as mentioned, one of those was in a game involving Chelsea. England has also awarded three penalties, again with one going in Chelsea’s favour.