Arsenal and Manchester City meet in a key Premier League fixture on Sunday. One of the country’s leading referees, Stuart Attwell, will be the man in the middle at the Emirates Stadium.
Warwickshire official Attwell is no stranger to this fixture, having taken charge of it on three previous occasions, most recently Arsenal’s penalty shootout success in the 2023 Community Shield.
Man City have won the two other meetings with Attwell as referee, with both successes coming at the Emirates. The first was a 1-2 league triumph in January 2022 — a match that saw Gunners defender Gabriel sent off — as well as a 1-4 Carabao Cup quarter-final win in December 2020.
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Both sides will hope to lay down a marker in the title race with victory in this game. Arsenal have started the season with three wins from four in the Premier League, while Man City bounced back from losing two of their first three with last weekend’s comprehensive Manchester derby success.
Stuart Attwell’s record vs Arsenal
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 21 |
| Wins | 9 |
| Draws | 6 |
| Defeats | 6 |
| League points | 30 |
| Penalties per game | 0.05 |
| Yellow cards per game | 2.24 |
| Red cards per game | 0.10 |
Attwell has taken charge of 21 previous matches involving Arsenal. But this will be the first time he has refereed a Gunners game since November 2023, when he controversially allowed a Newcastle United goal to stand as Mikel Arteta’s side were beaten 1-0 at St James’ Park.
Anthony Gordon’s winner that day was given despite Arsenal protesting that the ball had gone out of play, Newcastle’s Joelinton had fouled Gabriel and the goalscorer had been offside.
The dust should hopefully have settled since that controversial day on Tyneside and Attwell is no stranger to big games involving Arsenal. He has overseen matches against Liverpool and Chelsea in the past as well as three previous meetings with Man City.
The 42-year-old’s first officiated an Arsenal match all the way back in September 2010 when Laurent Koscielny, Marouane Chamakh, Alex Song and Carlos Vela were the scorers in a 4-1 top-flight win over Bolton Wanderers at the Emirates.
Stuart Attwell’s record vs Man City
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 24 |
| Wins | 17 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Defeats | 6 |
| League points | 34 |
| Penalties per game | 0.21 |
| Yellow cards per game | 1.67 |
| Red cards per game | 0.13 |
Attwell has also officiated some high-profile Man City matches, not least his most recent game in the middle involving Pep Guardiola’s side – May’s 1-0 FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace.
The Nuneaton-born referee also garnered controversy during a Manchester derby in January 2023. He allowed a Bruno Fernandes equaliser for Manchester United to stand despite Marcus Rashford being in an offside position and seemingly interfering with play – Man City went on to lose the game 2-1.
It has been a long time since Attwell first officiated a Man City game, taking charge of their 2-1 extra-time success over Fulham in the third round of the Carling Cup all the way back in September 2009. Kolo Toure, now on the coaching staff at the Etihad, was the matchwinner that day.