Arsenal staff have reportedly been sent for extra training regarding hygiene after a mouse problem was found at the Emirates leaving the ground one of only two in the Premier League to be denied a five-star rating.

In what is quite an embarrassing story for Arsenal who pride themselves on, well, not being infested with rodents I guess, Arsenal have brought in experts to deal with what journalist Sami Mokbel writes in the Daily Mail is an ‘ongoing problem’.

While it is, of course, hard to keep mice out of a venue the size of the Emirates, there are a number of pro-active measures that can be taken to reduce the problem and it seems like this is what Arsenal are now doing, starting with educating staff, many of whom were said to be ‘oblivious to the issue’ with a ‘lack of cleaning’ being blamed in part.

An Arsenal spokesperson said: “We have always taken hygiene matters extremely seriously and have increased our actions to ensure Emirates Stadium exceeds the recommendations made. Increased visits from pest control experts, independent audits, additional staff training and substantial investment in proofing have all been implemented. We continue to look at ways to improve in this area.”

Arsenal also brought in an external firm to conduct an audit.

Newly-promoted Aston Villa were the other side not given a five-star rating.