Premier League confirm Arsenal vs Leeds United referee decision ahead of Emirates clash

The Premier League have confirmed their latest round of referee appointments with Paul Tierney to take charge of Arsenal vs Leeds United.

Leeds return to action on Saturday following a three-week international break combining fixtures through September and October. Daniel Farke’s side spent that period fifth in the table and remain unbeaten from five games in the top-flight.

Hosts Arsenal cannot boast an unbeaten record but do sit above Leeds in second thanks to their four wins. Mikel Arteta’s side went into the international break off the back of a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Brighton they will be desperate to move on from.

Leeds’ trip to Arsenal kicks off the weekend of Premier League action and it has now been confirmed that Tierney will be in charge at the Emirates. He will be assisted by Richard West and Steve Meredith, with Oliver Langford the fourth official and Tony Harrington on VAR duties.

Tierney has only taken charge of two Premier League games this season, with the experienced referee often dropping into the Championship for high-profile occasions. His most recent match was the fierce derby draw between Millwall and West Ham.

Last season, Tierney blew for 20.17 fouls and brandished 3.33 yellow cards per game on average in the Premier League, making him one of the more lenient officials. In a much smaller sample size this campaign, both numbers have risen slightly to 22 and four respectively.

Leeds only had Tierney in charge for one Premier League game last season but it was a memorable one. He was in the middle during April’s 2-1 win at Manchester United - their first in the top-flight since 1985 - sending off Lisandro Martinez for a hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

But it was his role as VAR assistant during February’s 1-0 defeat at home to Sunderland in which a clear penalty was missed when Luke O’Nien pulled Pascal Struijk to ground by the neck. Referee Stuart Attwell waved play on and Tierney checked the incident at Stockley Park but opted against recommending an on-field review

That decision was later confirmed as incorrect, as voted by the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel who unanimously voted that officials got it wrong. The panel noted that Sunderland skipper O'Nien is 'not looking at the ball, places his arms around the neck of Struijk in a clear non-footballing action and stops the Leeds United attacker from progressing towards goal.’