Mike Dean will referee the North London Derby

Try as hard as they might, Arsenal fans just can’t rid themselves of Mike Dean. The much-loathed referee has once again been handed the responsibility of calling this weekend’s North London Derby. The reaction on Twitter sums up the fans’ opinion of this news.

Dean has often become the focal point of matches that involve Arsenal. Sadly, whenever his name is involved in the match summary it’s usually for reasons that go against the Gunners

Here’s a look at just some of Mike Dean’s “greatest hits” of screwing over Arsenal. See how many you remember:

Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal September 2015

Diego Costa starred on this day as the villain. Dean was his co-star. The Chelsea striker manhandled the Arsenal players throughout the match while Dean stood by and watched. Costa hit Laurent Koscielny in the face several times before pushing the defender to the ground. No card was issued. When Gabriel kicked out at Costa in retaliation, he was shown an immediate red card. Cazorla was later sent off for a second yellow. Meanwhile Costa was free to be a thug.

Afterwards fans circulated an on line petition to get Dean banned from calling future Arsenal matches.

Arsenal 1-West Brom 1 December 2018

Dean was center stage in one of the most frustrating matches of last season. West Brom held Arsenal until an 83rd minute James McClean own goal gave the Gunners a deserved lead. That lead lasted six minutes. Dean awarded West Brom a penalty for a phantom Calum Chambers hand ball. Dean later admitted his mistake, but the damage was done.

Tottenham 0-0 Arsenal February 2009

This was a rather dreary affair, but Dean played his part on this day as usual. Emmanuel Eboue was booked early in the match for dissent. Then in the 37th minute Dean produced a second yellow card and Eboue was sent off. The Gunners played the rest of the match down a man and held on for a draw.

Arsenal 0-1 Newcastle November 2010

As usual when Mike Dean is involved, an Arsenal player gets a red card. On this day it was Koscielny in added time. Making it even worse was the fact that the Gunners’ nemesis Andy Carroll scored the only goal from a Joey Barton free kick.

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal October 2011

On this day it was apparent that Dean needed a new pair of glasses. When Spurs defender Rafael van der Vaart scored in the 40th minute it was clear to everyone, except the ref, that he handled the ball. The result was a loss for Arsenal.

Let’s hope that this time out Dean can do his job without becoming a focal point of the match. What do you think the odds are for that?