Arsenal have the same referee again, bringing back some tricky calls just before their game against Aston Villa.
Arsenal head to Aston Villa for Monday Night Football in one of the most exciting games of gameweek two.
Mikel Arteta’s team started their title defense strongly with a 3-0 win over newly promoted Coventry City. Goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and Martin Odegaard showed the Gunners are ready to keep their winning streak going and why they’re favorites to win the league again.
On the other hand, Aston Villa had a tough start, losing 4-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion after losing key players like Ezri Konsa, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, and Morgan Rogers over the summer.
Arsenal will want to take advantage of Villa’s struggles and secure their second win in a row. The game at Villa Park will be refereed by Australian Jarred Gillett.
Gillett, 39, also refereed Arsenal’s first Premier League match and came through without much criticism—something that hasn’t always been the case. Here, SPORTbible looks at four times Arsenal have questioned some of his decisions.
Back in October 2025, Arsenal’s trip to St James’ Park caused a stir. Despite winning with a late goal from Gabriel Magalhaes, Arteta wasn’t happy with a penalty decision from Gillett. Initially, Arsenal got a penalty after Nick Pope fouled Viktor Gyokeres, but after a VAR review, Gillett overturned it because Pope touched the ball. Arteta argued VAR should not have stepped in since it wasn’t a “clear and obvious error.”
Gillett also made headlines as the VAR official during Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in August 2023. The match was talked about because Takehiro Tomiyasu got a strange red card. He first got a yellow for taking too long on a throw-in, then a second yellow for a soft foul, which led to his sending off. Gillett couldn’t overturn the red card due to the rules, which sparked calls for VAR to have more power in these cases. After the game, Arteta said, “These are the new standards… I think it was eight seconds [for the throw-in]. Maybe we need a stopwatch!” But he was happy Arsenal won.
Later in the 2023/24 season, Arsenal lost 1-0 to Aston Villa with a goal from John McGinn, ruining their title hopes. Arteta was especially upset because Arsenal were denied a penalty when Douglas Luiz clipped Gabriel Jesus. Gillett waved play on, and after VAR checked, the decision stood as not a “clear and obvious” error. Another tricky moment came late when Kai Havertz’s goal was ruled out for handball, with VAR agreeing, though the replays weren’t clear.
On New Year’s Day in 2022, Arsenal lost 2-1 to Manchester City with 10 men after a late goal from Rodri. Fans accepted Gabriel Magalhaes’ red card but were upset that Ederson’s foul on Odegaard was not called as a penalty. Gillett, working as VAR, agreed with the referee’s decision not to give a penalty despite the replay showing contact. The game also saw a penalty given to City after Bernardo Silva went down from minimal contact by Granit Xhaka, which fans criticized Gillett for allowing.
These moments show why Arsenal fans have sometimes been unhappy with Gillett’s calls, even as he remains a key figure in big games like Monday’s match at Villa Park.