‘Tottenham fan’ Mike Dean goes from hero to villain with Arsenal supporters after terrible penalty call

MIKE DEAN appeared to prove he isn't a Tottenham fan as some Arsenal fans had suggested by awarding the Gunners an early penalty in the North London derby - but his good work was quickly undone when he pointed to the spot at the other end.

Much of the talk before the North London Derby was surrounding the appointment of Dean, 50, for the game.

But he did brilliantly to spot Jan Vertonghen's handball in a crowded 18-yard box with just nine minutes on the clock.

As the Arsenal free-kick came in, Shkodran Mustafi looked set to have a free header towards Hugo Lloris' goal but was denied by the raised arm of the Belgian centre-back who deflected it away.

But Dean was not fooled and pointed to the spot.

Arsenal fans were initially critical of Dean being in charge - so much so that he was booed when his name was announced before kick-off.

He once appeared to "celebrate" a Spurs goal at White Hart Lane and was accused of making "massive mistakes" in previous Gunners games.

But with Arsenal fans beginning to forgive the referee, he soon returned to his role as the villain by awarding Spurs a penalty after Rob Holding was judged to have fouled Son Heung-min.

Replays clearly showed that Son dived.

Harry Kane dispatched the spot-kick into the bottom left corner to put Tottenham ahead as Bernd Leno dived the wrong way.