Manchester United face Arsenal in the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Ever since the Premier League fixtures were announced for 2025/26, anticipation has been building to Manchester United’s showdown with Arsenal.
Both teams have been strengthening their squads for the new season and there could be two new strikers on show, Benjamin Sesko for Manchester United and Viktor Gyokeres for Arsenal.
As we have seen over the years, Manchester United and Arsenal clashes can be decided by moments of brilliance, and they can also be turned by refereeing decisions too.
The officials have now been announced for the August 17 fixture.
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Referee for Man Utd vs Arsenal
Manchester United host Arsenal at Old Trafford in the late Sunday 4.30pm kick-off.
The match officials have been appointed for the game, with Simon Hooper named as referee for the much-anticipated clash.
Simon Hooper has refereed eight Manchester United games dating back to 2016, most recently the late December loss against Newcastle.
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Notably, Hooper has never sent off a Manchester United player in the matches he has refereed, and he has never given a penalty against us.
He has awarded two spot-kicks for United, in the 2-0 victory against Everton in March 2024.
Match assistants for Man Utd vs Arsenal
The following assistants have been appointed for the game by the Premier League.
Assistant Referee: Adrian Holmes
Assistant Referee: Simon Long
Fourth Official: Jarred Gillett
VAR: Paul Tierney
VAR Assistant: Steven Meredith
Fourth official Jarred Gillett was the VAR official in Manchester United’s 2023 defeat to Arsenal when Alejandro Garnacho’s breakaway goal was ruled out for offside.
VAR official Paul Tierney was the referee for United’s 2023 FA Cup Final defeat to City at Wembley, awarding a spot-kick that Bruno Fernandes scored.
He also ruled out a Gabriel Martinelli goal at Old Trafford when Manchester United won 3-1 in 2023, that a VAR panel later ruled to be an error, per ESPN.
United and Arsenal games are often dominated by controversy, and we can only hope that if there are talking points from this fixture, we come out on the right side of them.