It may or may not surprise most to know that since Arsene Wenger joined Arsenal in 1996, his win percentage has decreased.

It’s not been steadily getting worse every single season. For example, his first season – 1996/97 – had a 25% loss percentage, almost as bad as last season’s (26%).

However, there’s a marked pattern. In fact, eight of Arsenal’s worst ever seasons have occurred in the last 10 years.

Arsenal’s ‘best season’ was 2003/04. The Invincibles. The Gunners went unbeaten in the Premier League and only lost six times in other competitions during the course of the entire season. A loss percentage of 10%.

2004/05, when Arsenal won the FA Cup and finished second behind Chelsea, was only marginally worse (12%).

When Wenger won his first title with Arsenal in 1997/98, they lost 15% of their games and then in 2001/02, 17%. Showing that whoever wins the title doesn’t necessarily lose the least matches.

However, since then, the loss percentage has crept higher with Arsenal losing 26% of their games last season – 14 overall.

Has Wenger gotten steadily worse or has the rest of football, especially the Premier League, gotten more competitive? Or is it a lethal combination of the two?

Image credit to @Neillark.