Unai Emery has been sacked after 18 months as Arsenal head coach. He is succeeded on an interim basis by one of his assistants, Freddie Ljungberg, who will look for three points at the first time of asking against Norwich City to stop a skid of seven games without a win.
Norwich City v Arsenal Preview
Team News
Arsenal saw two defenders go down with injuries in their 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night. Both David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi had to go off early in that match with bruises and will be assessed ahead of Sunday’s game.
The German has largely been absent from the Arsenal squad so will likely miss out regardless. Meanwhile, the Brazilian has been almost a mainstay in the team but Ljungberg may have to rely on Calum Chambers, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Rob Holding.
Hector Bellerin will also be assessed. He is listed as having a tight hamstring on the club’s official site and did not feature in the Europa League midweek.
Meanwhile, Sead Kolasinac will be available for selection after missing two matches with his own hamstring issue. Finally, Dani Ceballos is till out and will aim to return to training in December.
Norwich City club captain Grant Hanley will miss out on Arsenal’s visit with a groin issue. The Canaries will also not have Alexander Tettey in the team due to personal reasons or Timm Klose thanks to a knee issue.
Finally, Jamal Lewis is listed as a doubt due to his own knee problem but he will be assessed ahead of Sunday’s fixture between Norwich City and Arsenal.
Big Chance to Set the Tone
This will be Freddie Ljungberg’s first taste of action as first-team boss. He does so with the Gunners reeling after going winless in seven games across competitions for the first time since 1992. As such, this is a critical match.
Norwich City have historically found life tough against Arsenal. They have managed just two Premier League victories over the north London outfit but have already taken a win against one of the big six.
The Canaries managed to defeat Manchester City 3-2 at Carrow Road in September. Norwich were very competitive against Chelsea, losing just 3-2, and recently beat Everton away 2-0.
However, despite some good performances and results, Norwich City find themselves in the drop zone ahead of their match against Arsenal. The Gunners, meanwhile, sit in a precarious ninth place, eight full points off of fourth.
Norwich City v Arsenal Prediction
New managers, even interim ones, tend to lift spirits at a club. Freddie Ljungberg, already being a part of the Arsenal family thanks to his playing days, should have a similar effect. In his first interview he has already stated he wants to keep the players happy.
This should come as a warm welcome to a dressing room beleaguered by divisiveness for months now. The performance should be much improved from Arsenal and Norwich City will likely not be able to cope.
Expect a competitive, open match with a few goals.
Predicted score: Norwich City 1 Arsenal 3
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