Arsenal’s clash with Manchester City at
the Emirates Stadium on Sunday may have been as good as over when the
hosts, already down to 10 men, went 2-0 behind after 32 minutes.
But the Gunners only needed to check the referee before the game to know luck wasn’t likely to be on their side.
Mike Dean made a controversial, but
correct, call to send off Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny after nine
minutes, but the north London side’s record under the match official is
be woeful since 2009-10, compared with their rivals.
Marching orders: Mike Dean sends off Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny (left)
Stats from Opta show that in the 15
Premier League games Arsenal have played when Dean is officiating, they
have triumphed just once, making it a winning average of just seven per
cent.
It represents a massive contrast with
the Premier League’s current top four. Both Manchester clubs, Chelsea
and Tottenham have recorded significantly better results under Dean’s
watch.
The title winners from the past three
years recorded winning averages between 63 and 67 per cent, while even
Spurs can claim a 50 per cent success record when the Wirral-born
referee has been in charge across a similar amount of games.
Arsenal’s only victory under Dean’s
officiating in the last four seasons came earlier last year, a 5-2 win
over Tottenham at the Emirates.
But he has been present for some of
Arsenal’s most painful recent defeats too including the 2-1 loss at
White Hart Lane in the reverse fixture.
Rare result: Arsenal's only victory in a game under Dean's stewardship was the 5-2 win over Spurs
More recently he oversaw Arsenal’s
League Cup exit at Bradford and was also in charge of the competition’s
final in 2011 when Birmingham caused an upset to defeat the Gunners at
Wembley.
Dean’s decision to send off Koscielny
yesterday comes just over a year after a similar incident in a Premier
League match between Chelsea and Newcastle.
The December 2011 clash between the two
at St James’ Park came to life in the fourth minute when David Luiz
denied Demba Ba a clear goal scoring opportunity but was punished with
only a yellow card.
Woeful return: The Gunners have struggled for results with Dean in charge
Chelsea went on to win 3-0 in a result
that left Newcastle boss Alan Pardew fuming after the game when he
claimed Dean had told him Ba did not have 'control of the ball' so it
was not a red-card offence.
Pardew revealed later on Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday that Dean had initially stood by his decision but changed his opinion after reviewing the incident.
‘He said, 'I made a mistake, he should have been sent off',’ said Pardew.
We've been here before: Mike Dean only
cautioned David Luiz (blue top nearest penalty area) for denying Demba
Ba a goal scoring chance last season
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