Teams News: Norwich vs Arsenal

3 points is a must today after all the teams who matter won their matches. Come on boys!

Well, a winnable game, always. Good luck to the lads!

We're lucky the game stayed 1-0 because we've still got a chance, but there has to be a massive improvement. Knowing Wenger, he won't change things until the 70th minute. We don't really seem to play to Giroud's strength. Gervinho won't put a decent cross in, he always wants to get to the byline right near the goal.

To be fair to Mannone, I think the ball has swerved and that caused him to parry the ball in and not away. Goalies are taught that as standard and there's no way he was trying to do anything else. We needed to close down the guy shooting. I know the ESPN team has said this at half-time, but we are also over-reliant on Cazorla. Or put another way, our other players need to step up their performance.

Can't recall a worse performance. Giroud has been poor. Any pretensions we had of actually winning the league are well and truly buried. Top 3 is already decided; we're playing for 4th. Can't help but feel despondent about that. So early in the season too. Did you see how much energy the Chaves played with even after the international break? Contrast that with this. Squad is not good enough. Already Diaby is out and you just can't rely on him anyway. Then what? Ramsey? He is not a top-class PL player I'm afraid. Neither is Gervinho.

Hate to admit it but I felt we missed the penetrating runs of Theo Walcott today. Poldi must have been told he needed to be more defensive today as I only recall one run into the box he made early in the game, for a shot across goal. The spirit that used to be evident in the team was absent with no one willing to take responsibility. It is going to be one loooong season.

Agree, but individuals make the team; I did refer to a lack of that "team spirit" we noticed early in the season when we had a back-to-the-wall disposition to each game. Most fans were complacent so could that have rubbed off on the players? I'll think that the Manager has that task of ensuring the players have their feet on the ground, irrespective of the opposition, especially after the exertions of the Internationals.

When you give away the first goal in games like this, you give yourself a huge problem. After Mannone's ricket, all a side like Norwich has to do is not make a mistake, play everything with a straight bat and it becomes very difficult to break them down. Had it stayed 0-0 into the second half, I think we'd have found a way to win the game, even with the quite uninspiring attacking we did today.

If we were being totally honest it was Norwich who looked more likely to score when they attacked than us. Every one of their players had been briefed to do a job and they stuck to the script. They made the most of our reluctance to go around the sides and simply crowded out our creative midfield (i exclude Ramsey from that description), closed down every ball and cut off the angles. Its a tactic that's worked against us before and will no doubt do so again. You have to give some credit to Chris Houghton.

Yeah I remember that, agreed wasn't totally Ramsey's fault. Yeterday was abysmal, all of it, both the players on the pitch and Wenger's complete inaction - i'd like to know how he thought we'd score a goal with that team after giving them another 10 minutes in the 2nd half. That team really, really, could've done with some "in game" management. And just a side point, who's on the injury table.. Gibbs, Diaby & Rosicky. Sound familiar??

You just feel we need to have our key subs back to match-sharpness. The likes of Arshavin, Santos, Djourou and even Chamakh look like we could be needing them anytime soon, the way the injury curse strikes at this club. Arshavin can prove useful in situations as yesterday but you could see he lacked confidence and wasn't match fit. More games in the reserves (the domestic Cups too) and short run-outs in the league games are a must for this lot now. There's still a lot of games to go yet and the January window offers an opportunity to cover some areas of concern.

I fear its over for Arsenal for the Prem title for as long as AW remains now. things have now got too stale and the inertia will take some shifting that only a strong new broom will prevail.... the players are here, the depth is here, but collectively there is something very missing and there is a hollowness to your intensity, ability to overwhelm the final-third and belief to play with abandon and accept a degree of chaos in order to go for the jugular and come back in games.... the likes of Utd and now Citeh have that ability to flip a switch and go all-in when behind cos of the BELIEF that come the 93rd minute, they will prevail... no spending-spree will change this stale mindset now until the inevitable now happens with AW and the club... 5th.

Not sure the players or depth really are there vivyash. Did you see our bench yesterday? No strikers on it and we don't even have any strikers injured at the moment.

Sweet Jesus... We looked fantastic a fortnight ago, and then one third-choice-keeper-balls-up, and suddenly "I fear its over for Arsenal for the Prem title for as long as AW remains". Calm down ladies!

Yes, over the past few years we have - on many occasions - conceded a poor goal and then seen the opposition line all of their players up on the edge of their own box for the rest of the game; sometimes we come up with that special something to break them down, sometimes we have a bit of luck and nick a goal; and sometimes the opponents have their day. Do international games make a difference? Well, if it were the case that ten of the Arsenal starting eleven had played internationals and 2 only Norwich players, that would put them at a slight physical advantage that would explain a lack of sharpness. So 'just plain unlucky' - no, not as simple as that. But if the two clubs were to play that game ten times, Arsenal would win the other nine of them - so you could argue luck plays a part. I think the goalie cost us, to be honest; as LD said, you concede that goal, the opponents retreat and hit us on the break.

My comment was more about the fact that a few weeks ago everyone was an optomist; one bad game later, we're finishing fifth and definitely out of the race. 10 points behind, and ONLY 30 games to play! Way to keep the faith, fellas. Let's hope that infectious confidence transmits its way onto the field of play, eh.

Yeah, we started with two goalless draws, and the entire media talked about how wonderful Arsenal's defence was, and how Steve Bould had made that happen. We beat Liverpool and 'coasted' (which means 'won easily', doesn't it?). We beat Southampton. Conceded the first goal at Wet Sham and still won. We were unlucky to be on the losing side at Chelsea. All good eh?

Oh, wait - so now we've lost ONE GAME to Norwich, and Diaby is out injured, that's all out the window? 'The game is up'?

Not sure Spuds were the topic of discussion... shipping 4 goals to Chelsea isn't pretty though, is it; and given we lost 2-1 (and were arguably the better team - other opinions may differ), surely your lot should be twice as worried as Arsenal?

Viyyash comes on here to spout the usual Spud "this is our season...and Arsenal's downfall" sentiment, just to make himself feel good. I will not make much of much of his posts; you have to recall Spurs couldn't beat Norwich at their home ground, a game in which the away side were the better team. All the talk of Spurs getting better with their returning players assumes there will be no further injuries to the squad, which is very unlikely. All of a sudden, Diaby has become the 'champion' of the Arsenal cause, right? Losing to Norwich was disappointing, but it is not a debacle we cannot recover from.

my opinion of Arsenal's lack of intensity to come back from losing positions was aired well before the Norwich game. I said that you lacked the needed intensity to overwhelm teams even if thu fortune you manage to score goals andretrieve games.... isolated games here or there will not tell the true tale, after watching the team over 20% of the season you get a sense of their potential to overcome 1st goal conceded, and Arsenal have the least potential to do so (esp. without Diaby) outta the top 6-7 teams.. you lack the ability to bombard and overwhelm teams (when losing)... abit too composed, abit too prim and proper 'after you sir, no after you'.... and lets not discount the overkill of Cazorla by everyone and his dog recently, and the effect that has on other players who can become less engaged and lack drive when alll the laudits go to just 1 player: Liverpoo had that 1st with Gerrard, then Torres and now Suarez. other players simply switch off and feel under-valued.... 5th.

This performance was not down to over-confidence - that could possible explain that 1st half. However, after conceding the 1st goal, during the entire 2nd half, the team could not have been over-confident. Need to look for other reasons.

LOL, you did show intensity when 2-0 down cos by then you had to throw in the kitchen-sink and had nowt to lose, not the same as 1-0 is it when you still have that fear of conceding to a 2-goal margin... and thats me humouring you after yet another isolated game quoted by you(s) and didnt Spurs win from 0-2 down a season earlier at your place ?.... you need to develop a sense of the team that only reviewing over the last 6-7 games can give, despite 'illusions' like the Wet Spam comeback.... overall, esp. without Diaby, the team lacks steel and certainly drive when losing. . better hope for another Spuds collapse in April, maybe Woy will be gone by then and AVB will be in the frame...

Viyyash, I think you misunderstand being 'happy' to let the opposition have the ball and fearful of being torn apart by that other side. For many years now, it has been standard for all but 4/5 teams in the league to play a 10-0-1 formation against us. Arsenal attack whether they're a goal down or a goal up. Sometimes it's a little annoying if I'm honest; especially when we're a goal up and Vermaelen keeps streaming forward on the attack!

"without Diaby, the team lacks steel and certainly drive when losing" - interesting insight; but have you ever seen Diaby inspire the Arsenal to a comeback? Or never seen Arsenal make a comeback without him? Bearing in mind that we beat West Ham this month, having conceded first - without him. It just sounds like your opinions are not based on any facts.

Do you bother to "proof read" your thoughts before you engage your key board? When 1 goal down, you cannot show intensity then all of a sudden, you show intensity because you are now 2 down. What gibberish! Your opinions are clearly without any reasoned basis but just thrown up in the hope that it fits into some self-determined pattern. When reminded of how we came back to spank you last season, you go two seasons back to bring up a game where you came back (like, how far back can you really play that game, because Arsenal has had more of such occasions vs Spurs?), yet your stats were drawn from observing us for 2-3 months, after 8 games of a 38 games league. Very funny.

Naija... you obviously cannot differentiate the mindsets involved between being 1 goal down and being 2 down. its okay, cos it will carry on numbing the pain for you... you spanked us good last season, so what ?... it was a fluke like any 0-2 to 5-2 scoreline would be in any league on the planet. the fact that you constantly refer to this as your 'security blanket' speaks volumes.... every team gets beaten, we beat you too, so what ?.... Diaby is your most important player now as he is the one that allows you to capitalise when Cazorla drags his marker away. you will carry on feeling his loss til he's back... I'd like a full-strength Arse team out soon as then there wont be any comeback when you finish 5th..

Viyvash, no team gained more points from losing positions last season than Arsenal. By quite some distance too. We already have four from losing positions this season which, considering we've conceded 6 goals, isn't bad going. Arsenal have weaknesses worth discussing, but the ones you offer don't stack up at all.

We know St. Totteringham's day will come. Heck! We can start celebrating it in instalments till the day comes.

LOL its good that you can solace in the midst of going out in a whimper.. I think you should celebrate St Totteringham Day each and every day in installments, heck why not even borrow from next yr's bounty, it'll make you feel sooo much better... should be interesting the way he season pans out, do you think Arsenal will be ahead of Spuds by Xmas then, cos I don't think thats happening

In answer to "do you think Arsenal will be ahead of Spuds by Xmas then", yes; although I'm more interested in being ahead of them at the end of the season, when it matters. After all, Everton are fourth at the minute, and WBA sixth; I can't imagine they'll finish the league in those positions. We do have 30 games still to play, of course. And haven't finished below Spuds since the Mesozoic era.

Viyyash why not reply to direct points made to counter your inane ramblings?

Viyyash. Are you TRH in disguise?

"more prim, prissy football that will win matches here and there"... and league titles, don't forget those. We won those with this manager, playing his players, in his formation etc. Although clearly we're behind Spuds; it's been about 8 years since we won one of those, which is a very long time. Spurs though, they've won it for the last ten consecutive seasons. Oh, no, wait; they haven't, have they. They've not won it since 1961, have they? 51 years ago? I'm not sure, I googled it, so it may be wrong. I don't remember them winning it in my lifetime though, so sounds about right.

I get bored of it, although if you find it entertaining that's lovely. Every year, the 'experts' you mention say that we'll finish 6th this year, because Newcastle/Spurs/Liverpool/Everton (take your pick) look so much stronger this year, and 'Arsene doesn't spend enough money'; then they spend six months denying the fact that Arsenal are at the top of the league. Then gloss over the fact that we finish in the top 4 (3rd last season, no?) AGAIN, and they're wrong, AGAIN. Thing is, like Spuds fans, they never learn; the next year the're saying 'Arsenal to finish 6th', and the Spuds say 'we'll finish above you now we have Jol/Ramos/'arry/Boas; power shift'; blah blah...

Not sure; for me, the question is 'how do you win league titles when almost all of your opponents, including some of the 'big' clubs, stick ten men on the edge of their box?'. More than satisfied with the playing staff, coaching staff etc. But you might well want to ask the 19 clubs that finished behind Arsenal - again, almost exclusively - what they plan to do to catch up with us...

Whether the Mancs face it more often is a matter of opinion, I suppose. It sounds like your answer to getting more goals is simply 'Arsenal should throw more balls into the box and see what happens'. If that's what you mean, then I'd agree we don't do much of it, and disagree that we need to do it more. it only looks "too prim and composed" when you don't get a goal. Equally, tossing the ball forwards only appears to have created "proper quality goal-plays" (odd phrase, by the way!) when it comes off; when it doesn't, you look like Stoke.

That's your opinion? Okay. I think it's bobbins myself, but you're welcome to it. I think that's born of this perception that being 'brave' and playing a 'man's game' means kicking people, bullying people, seeing how much you can get away with etc. For me, it's braver to try to do the right thing - the 5-yard pass to someone in a better position - when a stadium is screaming 'SHOOT!'. Are you able to demonstrate any examples of where Arsenal would have scored if they had gone 'into the pain barrier'? For the life of me, I can't think of one, ever.

Tommassi... I dont mean what you say at all. if you watched the Utd game in the 2nd half after they went to a flat 4 in midfield and played 2 strikers, they compressed the game into Braga's half and kept them under severe pressure by high-tempo movement on and off the ball, delivering the ball into dangerous areas and feeding off the chaos these situations bring.... Arse tend to pass the ball around and are less prone to roll the dice by playing a ball unless the result appears more certain.... they gamble less than Utd when they odds are in their favour (which any gambler will tell you is the wrong thing to do)

Vermaelen is not a professional-gambler, he's a housewife-punter.... 3 forwards yes, but really its 2 wide-middies and a centre-forward masquerading as 3 strikers... fullbacks engage the wideys, both CBs take the centre-forward and the DM sticks like glue to Santi = sorted... when you play 2 proper strikers like Utd do when behind who can engage/occupy all 4 of the backline with runs out wide then back in, it means their wideys can be unmarked as 2 occupy 4.... you do the maths from therein.

1) you won't play all hose name together (2) the wideys do not play on the backline cos you have 1 DM and Cazorla apparently in 'the hole' meaning the wideys are really wide-middies and not forwards, otherwise you'd get totally outnumbered in the middle 93) Arteta plays mainly a screening role now, his Everton role is irrelevant... the truth is Cazorla being 'free' inhibits the wideys being true forwards.