Culture

Arsenal will finish in their lowest Premier League position for 25 years.
The Gunners lost 1-0 to relegation-threatened Aston Villa on Tuesday night – meaning they will end the 2019/20 campaign outside the top seven.
Mikel Arteta has a huge job on his hands at Arsenal to turn the club back into title contenders
Mikel Artetas side are tenth going into the final day of the season on Sunday, having won just 13 games.
Their last match of 2019/20 is at home to Watford, who slipped into the bottom three thanks to their 4-0 defeat to Manchester City and Villas win.
A tenth defeat ensures Arsenal will finish below Tottenham for the fourth consecutive season as the white half of north London continue to outperform their rivals in the Premier League – though neither side will be happy with their campaigns.
While the Gunners could yet end the season on a high with FA Cup glory – they face Chelsea in the final on August 1 – it has been a forgettable year in the Premier League.
Whatever happens against Watford, Arsenal cannot finish any higher than eighth and that will result in their lowest top-flight finish since 1994/95.
Arsenal haven’t finished this low in the table since 1994/95
Back then, George Graham was sacked mid-season as the club were engulfed by a ‘bungs’ scandal.
Arsene Wengers lowest finishes were fifth and sixth in his final two seasons with the club and they were the only times he ended outside the top four.
Unai Emerys only full campaign with Arsenal, meanwhile, saw the club finish in fifth place.
It would be hardly fair to lay too much blame on Arteta seeing as he only took over from Emery in December and inherited a squad in need of a major overhaul.
Emery was sacked as Arsenal manager in November 2019 after 18 months in charge with the club eighth in the Premier League at the time
Performances have improved significantly under the Spaniard and fans seem excited about the future under him.
However, his record so far in the Premier League makes for grim reading. In his 19 league games in charge so far, Arsenal have taken just 30 points.
That is a worse record than the previous four Arsenal managers at the same point of their careers with the club.
Emery and Graham took 38 points from their first 19 league games in charge, while Wenger and Bruce Rioch collected 33 points.
It shows the scale of the task facing Arteta at Arsenal as he looks to transform their fortunes.
Surely the only way is up for Arsenal next season…
Arsenal managers after 19 league games

  • Mikel Arteta (2019-20) – 30 points
  • Unai Emery (2018-19) – 38 points
  • Arsene Wenger (1996-97) – 33 points
  • Bruce Rioch (1995-96) – 33 points
  • George Graham (1986-87) – 38 points