Chelsea and Arsenal face off in the Premier League on Sunday at 4:30pm, with Anthony Taylor set to referee.
Taylor is unsurprisingly one of the most-used referees in the Premier League this season, with this set to be his 11th game. No referee has officiated more matches. Taylor has overseen matches for both of these sides this season, and he isn’t a favourite among their fans.
Taylor was the referee for both the 2016-17 and 2019-20 FA Cup finals between these sides, with Arsenal winning both 2-1. Chelsea ended both matches with 10 men, both filled with controversy. Mateo Kovacic received his second yellow card in the 2019-20 final for a foul on Granit Xhaka, which replays showing it was the Croatian who was actually fouled. And in 2016-17, Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring for Arsenal despite claims of handball.
Arsenal go into this game top of the league, six points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea. And both sides are on decent unbeaten runs.
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Anthony Taylor’s Chelsea record
Taylor has refereed 56 Chelsea matches to date, only officiating Liverpool (68) more. Chelsea fans are not overly fond of Taylor, feeling he referees them unfairly. Taylor has shown Chelsea 128 yellow cards, more than he has any other side. He has also sent off three Chelsea players, including two in the aforementioned FA Cup finals. Taylor broke the record for most yellow cards in a single game last season, in a match involving Chelsea. The Blues have won their past five games with Taylor as referee, though.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 56 |
| Wins | 29 |
| Draws | 14 |
| Defeats | 13 |
| League points | 86 |
| Penalties per game | 0.18 |
| Yellow cards per game | 2.29 |
| Red cards per game | 0.05 |
What happened when Anthony Taylor last refereed Chelsea?
Taylor was the man in the middle for Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Liverpool earlier this season. And as far as Taylor’s Chelsea games go, this was very uneventful. He showed just two yellow cards in the game, both going to Liverpool players. He did opt not to award Chelsea a penalty after Alejandro Garnacho went down in the box, a decision that was backed up by our VAR polls.
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Anthony Taylor’s Arsenal record
Taylor has also refereed 56 Arsenal games to date, with the Gunners winning 32 of those. They have also only lost eight, but 16 draws have made things less rosey. Arsenal have also been harshly refereed by Taylor. He has sent off seven Arsenal players during his career, the most of any club he has officiated. Four of those have been four two yellow cards, a joint-high for Taylor. Arsenal are unbeaten in their past nine games with Taylor as referee.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 56 |
| Wins | 32 |
| Draws | 16 |
| Defeats | 8 |
| League points | 94 |
| Penalties per game | 0.18 |
| Yellow cards per game | 1.70 |
| Red cards per game | 0.13 |
What happened when Anthony Taylor last refereed Arsenal?
Taylor was referee for Arsenal’s London derby win over Fulham at Craven Cottage. There was a controversial moment as Taylor awarded Arsenal a penalty for a foul on Bukayo Saka by Kevin. It was overturned after a VAR review, but fans felt his was the wrong decision. No cards were shown during the match, despite the 15 fouls — 11 for Fulham.
What should we expect from Anthony Taylor?
With Taylor as referee in a game betwen these two, cards are on the menu. His five Chelsea vs Arsenal games so far have seen Taylor show 19 yellow cards, and two reds. He has also awarded two penalties, one for each side.