Arsenal get same referee twice in a row as controversial decisions resurface before Aston Villa

Arsenal travel to Aston Villa for Monday Night Football in one of the most eye-catching fixtures of gameweek two.

Mikel Arteta's men kick-started their title defence convincingly with a 3-0 victory over newly promoted Coventry City.

Strikes from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard ensured the Gunners kicked off where they left off last term, proving why they're favourites to lift successive league titles.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, were thrashed 4-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion after watching their squad get decimated this summer by the departures of Ezri Konsa, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers.

Arsenal will be looking to feast on their problems by recording their second successive victory, with Australian Jarred Gillett officiating the clash at Villa Park.

The 39-year-old refereed Arsenal’s opening Premier League match, escaping criticism for his officiating at the Emirates Stadium - and that isn't always the case.

Here, SPORTbible looks at four occasions when the Gunners have slammed Gillett for controversial decisions.

Viktor Gyokeres penalty overturned in Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal (September 2025)

Arsenal's visit to St James' Park in October 2025 was marred by controversy.

Although the Gunners came from behind with Gabriel Magalhaes scoring in the dying embers, Mikel Arteta wasn't happy with a decision Gillett made in the first half.

The north London side were awarded a penalty in the 14th minute when Nick Pope brought down Viktor Gyokeres after he latched onto Jacob Murphy's misplaced back pass.

Gillett initially awarded the spot-kick before VAR intervened, and the Australian overturned the decision after replays showed that Pope did actually get a touch on the ball.

Arteta wasn't happy with the call, insisting that VAR shouldn't have got involved as it wasn't a "clear and obvious error", with many feeling that the referee broke PGMOL protocol.

Takehiro Tomiyasu's red card during Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal (August 2023)

Gillett was operating VAR when he made another controversial decision, this time during Arsenal's 1-0 victory away at Crystal Palace in August 2023.

In the second game of the Premier League, the Gunners visited Selhurst Park and claimed a vital three points, but the talking points after the game were about Takehiro Tomiyasu's bizarre red card.

Tomiyasu was shown a yellow card after taking too long to take a throw-in - eight seconds to be exact - after Kai Havertz held the ball for 15 seconds.

The Japan defender was sent off by referee David Coote moments later after being given a second yellow for a soft foul on Jordan Ayew, a decision Gillett couldn't overturn due to the rules, sparking calls for VAR to be able to change obviously wrong calls.

Speaking after the game, Arteta said: "These are the [new] standards.

"I don't know exactly how long... [On being told it was 23 seconds]. No, it wasn't. I think it was eight seconds. We might have to play with a stopwatch. It's OK, we won the game, I'm happy."

Gabriel Jesus denied penalty in Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal (December 2023)

Later on in the 2023/24 season, Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa thanks to John McGinn's strike, denting their hopes of lifting the Premier League title as Unai Emery extended his winning run to 14 matches at Villa Park.

A defeat was a bitter pill for Arteta to swallow, and the outcome could have been completely different if the Gunners hadn't been denied a penalty after Douglas Luiz clipped Gabriel Jesus on the bottom of his foot.

Referee Gillett opted to wave play on before VAR checked for a potential spot kick. Frustratingly for Arsenal, VAR eventually agreed with the official's decision, as the incident wasn't deemed a "clear and obvious" error.

That wasn't the only moment of controversy, as the north London side had a late equaliser ruled out by Gillett after Kai Havertz supposedly bundled the ball home with his hands. VAR agreed with the on-field decision, although the replays were somewhat inconclusive.

Martin Odegaard involved in penalty controversy during Arsenal 1-2 Man City (January 2022)

On New Year's Day in 2022, the Gunners suffered a 2-1 defeat with 10 men against Manchester City after Rodri rifled home a 93rd-minute winner to move 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Few could complain about Gabriel Magalhaes' red card, but the majority inside the Emirates Stadium were rightfully aggrieved that Stuart Attwell didn't award Arteta's side a penalty when Odegaard was brought down in the box by City goalkeeper Ederson.

Gillet, who operated VAR on this occasion, stuck with Attwell's original decision of no penalty, despite replays showing Ederson making contact with the Norwegian before the ball.

Attwell then caused more controversy by giving Pep Guardiola's men a penalty later in the game when Bernardo Silva went down in the box under the slightest of touches from Granit Xhaka, as supporters criticised Gillett for allowing that decision to stand.