Canary Yellow Brighter Than Gunner Red

Another gloomy Saturday evening for Gunner fans. With the much dreaded international break just over, everyone was looking forward to Premier League action this weekend. It was not too enjoyable for an Arsenal fan. The Arsenal players looked fatigued and battered. Norwich on the other hand, looked exactly opposite. They were energized and ready to fight from the first whistle. The difference maybe because Arsenal had 15 players on International duty compared to the minuscule 2 by the Canaries, Morison and Snodgrass, who both started the game on the bench. They both made very late appearances in the game in the 90^th and 79^th minutes respectively. Putting that aside, Arsenal didn't play well and Norwich had a brilliant game. Arsenal's injury list resembles that of a kid's list for Santa Clause. Wolcott, Gibbs, Koscielny, Fabianski, Szczesny, Diaby, and to top it off The Ox sustaining a knock this game. Not including Wilshere and Sagna who are just starting to get back to full practice. It's not looking good unless these players make swift recoveries. 

 

More about the game, [Norwich]…they put on a solid performance. They used high pressure tactics and their solidarity as a unit really prevailed against a lackluster Arsenal offense. The Canaries' goal was far from spectacular. It resulted from a Mannone spill and Holt slotted it in for his 3rd EPL goal this season. I think the defensive unit really suffered with the addition of Andre Santos. He proved to always be available on the flank in an attacking position, but failed to provide himself as a solid defensive option, not tracking back with urgency. Diaby's absence was really palpable in the midfield battle. We need an enforcer like Viera/Song to protect the defense but also use their unlimited energy to probe up the middle of the field. 

Gervinho's shift in position up front back to his traditional role as a winger was an obvious choice by Wenger, but was it the right one? Gervinho is the Gunner's top scorer and looked very dangerous up the middle with his pace in previous games. However, Giroud played well up top and his positive energy and hustle showed his passion to do well. I think we need to be patient with him. He has proved himself in France and has what it takes to become an integral part in the Arsenal attack. 

Overall, it was a bad performance by Arsenal always looking lethargic and taking one too many extra touches on the ball before releasing. Norwich record their first win of the season having played an excellent game, and should've won 2 or 3 nil. I think the player of the match for Norwich was Grant Holt showing his strength and hunger for goal in sealing the victory and creating a few chances that he selfishly fluffed. As for Arsenal, the player of the match for me was Podolski in the first half. He was the only one who made piercing positive runs into space threatening goal. The addition of Arshavin and newcomer Serge Gnarby helped re-energize the team at the end which created heavy pressure in the remaining 7 minutes of the game, but in the end proved to be unsuccessful. Looking forward to next week to see how Arsenal will react to this result and how they might work the January transfer window to alleviate some of the issues. 

By: Suhail Tsay