Arsenal hosts Norwich City at the Emirates in a game from the 4th round of the Premier League. Let’s preview this match in the soccer predictions online for today. Shall we go?
The way Arsenal started the 2021/22 campaign in the Premier League is a stuff of nightmares. After three matches played so far the Gunners are at the bottom of the league with zero points. They also didn’t score a single goal in these three games, so their current goal difference is 0-9. Pretty bad, isn’t it? Right now many fans are asking themselves the same question – is Mikel Arteta the right man to manage this team? Surely the Spanish coach will have to go if the team continue to perform like this.
In their last game before the international break Arsenal faced Manchester City at the Etihad. It didn’t go very well because the champions scored five times and got a stunning 5-0 win. Gundogan, Ferran Torres and Jesus scored in the first half while Rodri and Ferran again finished the job after the break. Arsenal had to finish the game with 10 men on the pitch as well because Granit Xhaka got sent off in the 35th minute. The Swiss midfielder won’t be available for the next game.
For the manager Mikel Arteta it would be very important to try to change something. His 5-4-1 formation against Man City didn’t work at all. In the second half Arteta picked players like Mohamed Elneny, Alexandre Lacazette and Ashley Maitland-Niles from the bench, but it didn’t really change anything. Arsenal’s biggest problem right now is that this team looks so uninspired. This should be mainly the manager’s fault because it’s his job to keep his players motivated. So far Mikel Arteta is not doing very well in this regard.
So far Arteta is rotating the team all the time, but he still can’t find the perfect recipe. He started with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the Etihad, but the Gabonese striker didn’t last even an hour against the Cityzens. The talented Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli could return in the line-up on Saturday while the new signing Albert-Mboyo Lokonga could replace the suspended Granit Xhaka in midfield. After the team’s awful performance in defense against Manchester City, Arteta could make some changes at the back as well. Players such as Pablo Mari and Nuno Tavares could make it to the line-up. The summer signing Ben White should return after an injury as well.
What excites Arsenal’s fans is the possible return of Thomas Partey on the pitch. The former Atletico Madrid star missed all matches since the start of the season, but he seems ready to play again. The return of Partey should improve the team as he’s a midfielder with proven quality. We don’t have any doubts that he will start against Norwich if he’s healthy. The truth is Arsenal needs players with a strong mindset like Partey at the moment. This player played few years under Diego Simeone at Atletico and we know what kind of mentality Cholo is building in his players.
Martin Odegaard is another player who the fans hope to see changing Arsenal’s direction. The Norwegian star made his second debut against Man City, but obviously it didn’t go very well for him and the team. Odegaard pushed for his return to London in the summer, so there’s no doubt he’s feeling very motivated. Now it’s really his time to shine and turn himself into a crucial player at Arsenal. The team needs his creativity and vision because it lacked it in the first few games. Odegaard’s job is to create chances for the strikers, but the strikers should do their job as well. And so far they are not doing it.
Just like Arsenal, Norwich City are without a single point since the start of the season. The newcomers at least succeed in scoring a goal, though. But it’s not helping them much at the moment.
In the previous round the Canaries hosted Leicester City at the Carrow Road, but once again suffered a defeat. Teemu Pukki scored for the hosts, but Marc Albrighton secured the three points for Leicester with a late goal in the 76th minute. Once again Norwich are starting to feel the difference between the Championship and the Premier League. They did very well in the second tier last season, but now they are up to a whole different challenge. The German manager Daniel Farke was unable to save the team from relegation the last time they were in the Prem, so now he must do something better in order to achieve that goal.
The truth is Norwich didn’t plat this badly against the Foxes. Billy Gilmour made a solid performance in midfield while Teemu Pukki and Milot Rashica were creating some problems for the visitors’ defense. Farke’s boys were just 15 minutes away from a first point of the season, but they didn’t have enough luck.
Some players remain unavailable for selection by Daniel Farke. The Polish midfielder Przemyslaw Placheta still can’t start his season while Bali Mumba and Samuel Byram are injured as well. It’s expected that all of these three players won’t be in the team for the next match as well.
Norwich City are aware that they are underdogs against Arsenal, but here’s some food for thought – they are actually above the Gunners in the standings. This means that Arsenal have some serious issues as well. And if Norwich find a way to exploit these issues in their favour, then yes – they have a chance.
That’s the soccer predictions online for the Premier League game between Arsenal and Norwich City at the Emirates. Both teams are without a single point since the beginning of the season, but this will change on Saturday. On paper Arsenal should be the favorite here, but they approach this game from the bottom of the standings. Norwich has enough reasons to believe that they have a chance to cause an upset here.