It was a costly win, losing both Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez to injury during the game, and Santi Cazorla finishing the match injured as well.
Arsenal were the better team earlier and scored courtesy of a poor clearance from Norwich’s goalkeeper. Sanchez claimed the ball and fed it through to Ozil, who calmly shot past John Ruddy.
Norwich finally came to life in the last ten minutes of the half and fashioned three good chances, scoring on the second. Brady found some space and forced a fine save from Cech.
Minutes later he got loose again, fed the ball through to Grabban, who muscled away from Gabriel and scored the equalizer. Hoolahan, unmarked, couldn’t keep his shot low when he managed to get on the end of a dangerous cross.
In the second half the game opened up as both teams tried to find the winner. The irony is that neither team created any gilt edged chances. Cech did make a sensational save off a header that had deflected off Gabriel’s head.
The Gunners lacked a final ball that would have made a difference and now see themselves fall back in the Premier League table.
With a new set of injured players set for the treatment table it will be up to Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott to stay healthy and provide some relief to the battered Gunners.
Player Ratings:
Cech 7: A terrific save off Bennett’s deflected header preserved the point for Arsenal. He made a couple of other saves, but for the most part he wasn’t very busy.
Bellerin 6: Not as productive on his flank as Nacho has been on his. At times he is reluctant to drive to the byline and he defers to others too often. Part of his problem are the number of players he’s been working with (i.e. Campbell, the Ox, Ramsey, etc.). He had one good chance to score, but he thumped the ball wide.
Mertesacker 7: Was safe on the ball and made a number of key interventions. Koscielny n/a: He hurt his hip or lower back. Not a good sign.
Monreal 7: He was in a constant marauding state down the flank and he managed to put almost ten crosses and passes into the box. Unfortunately, a number of the crosses were overhit and inaccurate. He had a little trouble dealing with Olsson.
Flamini 6: He put in a solid shift and helped to shield the defence. Cazorla 6: Was injured but played anyway. His leg became progressively worse and fans will worry about how long he’ll be out. He still managed to be effective most of the afternoon.
Ozil 7: Scored a lovely goal and he had a couple of other chances to score as well. He’s looking more dangerous by the day. He was not as effective in the second half, but was still our man of the match.
Ramsey 6: Aaron’s first starting game back. He was quietly effective and should improve in the games to come.
Giroud 6: The service into Giroud was ineffective and he never quite got into the flow of the match. He had a couple of half headers which never threatened the goal.
Sanchez 7: Assisted on the Ozil goal. He had a pretty good first half but appears to have hurt his hamstring.
Substitutes:
Gabriel 6: He could have done better on the goal where he ended up on the wrong side. Was effective the rest of the day and he made a sensational interception late in the game which prevented a certain goal.
Campbell 6: He had a couple of decent runs and made a few good moves.
Oxlade-Chamberlain 7: Made three very good crosses into the box. Arsenal need him in the weeks ahead.