Darren England has been appointed referee for Arsenal’s Premier League trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta’s side travel to the Amex Stadium on 19 September, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm BST.
The Premier League has now confirmed the complete team of match officials, including the VAR appointment for the fixture.
Supporters planning for the game can also find our full Brighton vs Arsenal TV channel, live stream and kick-off time guide.
Brighton vs Arsenal Referee and VAR Confirmed
England will be supported by assistant referees Scott Ledger and Alistair Nelson.
Michael Salisbury has been appointed fourth official, while Tim Wood will oversee VAR.
James Mainwaring completes the officiating team as Assistant VAR.
The Premier League confirmed the appointments ahead of Matchweek Five.
Brighton vs Arsenal match officials
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Role Official
Referee Darren England
Assistant referee Scott Ledger
Assistant referee Alistair Nelson
Fourth official Michael Salisbury
VAR Tim Wood
Assistant VAR James Mainwaring
England is also included on FIFA’s international referees list for 2026.
Darren England’s Premier League Record This Season
England has taken charge of three Premier League matches during the opening weeks of the 2026/27 season.
According to the available match data, he has produced ten yellow cards across those fixtures, an average of 3.33 per match.
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Metric Total Per Match
Matches 3 –
Yellow cards 10 3.33
Red cards 0 0.00
VAR interventions 1 –
That remains a small sample, so the early disciplinary numbers should not be treated as evidence of how Saturday’s game will be handled.
England’s appointment nevertheless gives supporters another detail to assess before a potentially demanding away fixture.
Arsenal and Brighton Records With Darren England
Arsenal and Brighton have both experienced generally positive results in recent matches officiated by England.
The supplied recent-match data has Arsenal unbeaten across their last five games with England in charge, recording four victories and one draw.
Brighton, meanwhile, have won three and drawn one across the four-match sample.
Those results provide historical context rather than evidence that either club receives an advantage from a particular referee.
Broader career data shows England has actually refereed significantly more matches involving both clubs, making that distinction important when presenting the numbers.
Arsenal Turn Attention to Brighton
Arsenal return to Premier League action after progressing through the Carabao Cup with a 4-2 victory over Ipswich Town.
Brighton also enjoyed a dramatic midweek result, recovering from 2-0 down to beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford.
We looked at how that Brighton comeback provided Arsenal with a warning before Saturday’s meeting.
Arteta also has fitness decisions to make before travelling to the south coast, with the latest information available in our Arsenal injury update ahead of Brighton.
England will now be the man tasked with controlling Saturday’s fixture, with Wood overseeing any decisions requiring intervention from VAR.
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