{"id":537427,"date":"2019-11-30T11:38:11","date_gmt":"2019-11-30T16:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=537427"},"modified":"2019-11-30T11:38:11","modified_gmt":"2019-11-30T16:38:11","slug":"freddie-ljungberg-arsenal-norwich-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2019\/11\/30\/freddie-ljungberg-arsenal-norwich-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Freddie Ljungberg Looking for Win at First Time of Asking as Arsenal Face Norwich City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unai Emery has been sacked<\/a> after 18 months as Arsenal<\/a> head coach. He is succeeded on an interim basis by one of his assistants<\/a>, Freddie Ljungberg<\/a>, who will look for three points at the first time of asking against Norwich City<\/a> to stop a skid of seven games without a win.<\/p>\n

Norwich City v Arsenal Preview<\/h2>\n

Team News<\/h3>\n

Arsenal saw two defenders go down with injuries in their 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt<\/a> on Thursday night. Both David Luiz<\/a> and Shkodran Mustafi<\/a> had to go off early in that match with bruises and will be assessed ahead of Sunday’s game.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, Sokratis Papastathopoulos<\/a> and Rob Holding<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hector Bellerin<\/a> will also be assessed. He is listed as having a tight hamstring on the club’s official site<\/a> and did not feature in the Europa League midweek.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Sead Kolasinac<\/a> will be available for selection after missing two matches with his own hamstring issue. Finally, Dani Ceballos<\/a> is till out and will aim to return to training in December.<\/p>\n

Norwich City club captain Grant Hanley<\/a> will miss out on Arsenal’s visit with a groin issue. The Canaries will also not have Alexander Tettey<\/a> in the team due to personal reasons or Timm Klose<\/a> thanks to a knee issue.<\/p>\n

Finally, Jamal Lewis<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Big Chance to Set the Tone<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The Canaries managed to defeat Manchester City<\/a> 3-2 at Carrow Road in September. Norwich were very competitive against Chelsea<\/a>, losing just 3-2, and recently beat Everton<\/a> away 2-0.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Norwich City v Arsenal Prediction<\/h3>\n

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<\/a> he has already stated he wants to keep the players happy.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Expect a competitive, open match with a few goals.<\/p>\n

Predicted score: Norwich City 1 Arsenal 3<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>