Five Things Learnt from Norwich/Arsenal
Canaries hold Gunners to 1-1 draw at Carrow Road
Norwich City got a credible point this evening as they held Arsenal at Carrow Road to a 1-1 draw.
Mesut Ozil continued his fine-form by giving the Gunners the lead, but a Lewis Grabban goal just before half-time got Norwich level.
The game remained 1-1 giving both sides a point, with City probably the happier.
So what did SillySeason take from the score-draw in East Anglia?
Here are our Five Things learnt.
5) Mesut Ozil is proving his worth
The man is on fire.
Last season he was good in patches and was slowly finding his old-form, but this season he’s been on a different level.
Mesut Ozil is now showing why Arsenal spent £42million on him back in 2013 and the club are reaping the rewards.
Assists are plenty so far this season, and he’s even looking more confident in front of goal.
His goal today as taken brilliantly with a little chip over John Ruddy.
The Premier League and Arsenal are finally seeing the best of Mesut Ozil.
4) Norwich City Looked Good
Norwich City could probably have taken all three points this evening had they been more decisive in front of goal.
They were outclassed in the first-half, but as soon as Lewis Grabban pulled them level, it was a different story. They held their own and in the second half they looked a real threat to Arsenal.
Quick on the counter and solid at the back, Norwich could have easily got another goal on a different day.
Wes Hoolahan missed the best chance to score a second, but the rest of the game both sides spent most of it in the middle of the park.
Good signs for Norwich however.
3) More defensive woes for Arsenal
A really soft goal to concede from Arsenal’s point of view just before half-time.
Gabriel Paulista probably to blame as he couldn’t get the right side of Lewis Grabban and failed to hold off the striker.
The goals they conceded against West Brom were soft, as was today’s against Norwich.
Steve Bould needs to work with this defence and sort them out before they slip into their old ways when their defence was all over the place.
2) Winless November for Arsenal
So ends a horrible month for Arsenal in the Premier League.
Just the two points earned and no wins at all for Arsene Wenger’s men, including the poor defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion.
Draws at home to Tottenham Hotspur and away to Norwich City today are not good enough for Arsenal, especially if they want to be classed as title contenders.
December needs to be a better month.
1) Injuries FC
Francis Coquelin last weekend and three more this weekend.
Arsenal’s injury record is a joke and it got a whole lot worse this evening.
Alexis Sanchez does his hamstring, Laurent Koscielny hurts his thigh and Santi Cazorla takes a blow on his knee.
Arsene Wenger believes two should be back for next week, but it’s not looking good for Arsenal as injuries continue to mount up.
It seems that when one returns, two or three get injured.
So there are our Five Things from the 1-1 draw at Carrow Road.
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt