Arsenal 4-1 Norwich City: Match review and player ratings

Not to be outdone by the previous goals, Ramsey proceeded to weave through the Norwich back line, leaving three defenders on their arses and spanked the ball past Ruddy. He’s unstoppable at the moment and his performance was even more brilliant considering he played 180 minutes for Wales during the break and had been pressed into action because of an injury. It secured the points and things were simple from then on. Ramsey enjoyed himself, leaving defenders trailing in his wake and producing one particular moment of jaw dropping skill.

But we weren’t finished there. Having found a good rhythm and with Norwich crumbling, we added a fourth. Rosicky floated a gorgeous cross to the back post and Ramsey cushioned the ball back to Özil who cooly slotted home. The icing on the cake, a fourth brilliant goal and a second for the German wizard. Norwich, who’d been playing quite well without creating a lot, now looked like they’d concede with every attack. Indeed, they should have conceded a penalty when Özil was blatantly felled in the box, but the referee, either through pity or incompetence (probably a bit of both), refused to give it. So we had to settle for just the four.

We didn’t really hit our best form, yet we still won convincingly. If it was Man Utd the pundits would be raving about how ‘that’s what champions do’. But it’s us, so naturally the pundits are trying t find any reason possible to dismiss us. To be honest, it’s far too early to tell whether we can sustain a challenge and we have a big run coming up in November that will test us in a big way. But all the signs are there that we could really be in the hunt for silverware this year.

I don’t think we’ve hit our best form yet and we’ve still got three hugely talented players to come back over the next couple of weeks. Having the pace and width that Walcott in particular brings will be massively important with games against Dortmund, Liverpool, Chelsea and United. I’m really excited to see what this squad can achieve this year and there are plenty of reasons to be positive. Tuesday sees the visit of Borussia Dortmund and possibly our most challenging game yet. Bring it on.

Stat of the game – Arteta to Özil and Arteta to Sagna were the most prevalent pass combinations, with each occurring 20 times in the game (via FourFourTwo)

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Flamini (Ramsey 37′), Arteta, Wilshere, Özil, Cazorla (Rosicky 59′), Giroud (Bendtner 78′)SubsVermaelen, Rosicky, Ramsey, Monreal, Fabianski, Bendtner, Jenkinson

Norwich (4-2-3-1)Ruddy, Martin, Olsson, Tettey (Hoolahan 79′), Turner, Bassong, Snodgrass, Howson, Hooper, Fer, Pilkington (Redmond 70′)SubsWhittaker, Johnson, Bunn, Hoolahan, Becchio, Redmond, R Bennett

Player Ratings

Szczesny	7/10	Solid as usual, but could again do nothing about the opposition goal
Sagna	7/10	Typically experienced, solid performance
Mertesacker	7/10	At fault for the Norwich goal, but still an authoritative performance
Koscielny	7/10	Also played well and was largely untroubled
Gibbs	7/10	Was having a fine came, but should have done better for the Norwich goal
Flamini	7/10	Was looking typically Flamini like until he knocked himself out
Arteta	6/10	Looked out of sorts, normally unerringly accurate but errant too often
Wilshere	8/10	Scored a stunning goal and looked a constant threat
Özil	8/10	Outrageously talented individual, doesn’t even have to try
Cazorla	7/10	At the heart of a lot attacks, but obviously not quite match fit
Giroud	8/10	Two gorgeous assist and some fantastic hold up play (My MOTM)
Subs
Ramsey	8/10	Came off the bench and bossed it. Best player in the league so far
Rosicky	7/10	Always gives something different when he plays, class act
Bendtner	N/A	Not on for long but showed some neat touches