Arsenal 16th? | West Ham odds | Rangnick | Kovac | Pre-tax loss

Those worried by threats of relegation should put their faith in statisticians who predict Arsenal will finish 16th this season, according to the Express.

They say Watford will be 20th, followed by Norwich, then Southampton and West Ham.

But hold on. In October, Arsenal were given 33/50 (1.66) to secure a top-four finish.

Meanwhile, in July an AI based study conducted by BT Sport in their ‘Script of the Season, where data analysts Squawka, analyse data from Opta, and host Google Cloud Platform, to script the new Premier League season predicted Chelsea and Tottenham will pip Arsenal and Man U to a Champions League spot who will be fifth and sixth respectively and Man City will retain the title by five points ahead of Liverpool. So back to square one.

On the betting tomorrow some odds have Arsenal leading at half-time, but failing to win the game (17/2). Arsenal have let a two-goal lead slip four times this season. They haven’t won away in the league since August which is why West Ham are 20/23. History shows a lot of goals in this fixture – and the odds for over 2.5 goals is 4/9. For offers to bet on the Premier League.

New names keep being added to those under consideration for Unai Emery’s old job – coach, not manager.

The Mail adds Ralf Rangnick head of sport and development for the Red Bull teams. He is 61 years old and is used to having significant control.

The Star adds Roberto Martinez as ‘a leading candidate’, while the Sun adds former Bayern Munich boss, Croatian Niko Kovac, who they say has approached the club and has the advantage of being out of work

Raul Sanllehi and Edu, Vinai Venkatesham, and Huss Famy and Josh and Stan Kroenke form the 3-stage interview board – which somewhat confirms the honorary role of board directors – Sir Chips Keswick, Lord Harris and Ken Friar at the club.

Arsenal reported a pre-tax loss of £23.5m compared with a profit of £97.4m last year.

Player sales went from £122m to £16m but doesn’t include figures from the summer transfer window.

Match day revenues fell spectacularly by £30m to £69m.

Revenues for the period ending on May 31, 2019, the first year since Stan Kroenke took the club into private ownership, fell from £388.6m to £367.5m. The drop is attributed to the delay in season ticket sales following the Europa League final. Commercial earnings were up £4m due to the kit deal with Visit Rwanda. And the reserve cash balance is £107m.