By Bulldog Drummond.
Previously:
- Arsenal v Norwich: exploring the approach of each club to this season
- Arsenal v Norwich: the danger Arsenal must be aware of in this game.
- Expect a foul to be given against Arsenal before Norwich kick off this weekend
Here is our home and away form for last season for Arsenal and Norwich, plus Norwich’s away form for the season before (given that they were in the Championship last campaign).
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Arsenal last season home | 19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 28 |
| 1 | Norwich City last season away | 23 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 21 | 15 | 49 |
| 20 | Norwich City 2019/20 away | 19 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 7 | 38 | -31 | 6 |
Clearly Norwich had a much more productive away form last season winning 62.5% of their games while Arsenal only won 42% of their games at home. Although, of course, Arsenal were playing in a more competitive league.
But looking back to the season before, when Norwich were in the Premier League they had a win rate of 5% which might give us more hope of winning!
Moving on to the injuries, here is the latest Physioroom.com table
- Aston Villa: 10
- Arsenal: 8
- Leicester City: 8
- Liverpool: 8
- Manchester City: 8
- Newcastle United: 8
- Norwich City: 8
- Tottenham Hotspur: 8
- Everton: 7
- Manchester United: 7
All other clubs have fewer than seven players out.
Overall this is the car thieves approach so eloquently described by Mr Wenger. They steal you car, wreck it, return it and tell you to have it ready for next time.
Here is the chart of the damage done to our players…
| Player | Injury | Update | Return date | What’s wrong | Fit? |
| Mohamed Elneny | Thigh Injury | Sept 09: “Mo has suffered a hamstring strain and is aiming to be back in full training in two to three weeks.” | 26/09/2021 | None | Ruled Out |
| Ben White | Other | Sept 09: “Ben is now back in full training and available for selection.” | 11/09/2021 | None | 100% |
| Emile Smith Rowe | Other | Sept 09: “He’s carrying an illness. He’s not been feeling good. Let’s see how he is in the next couple of days.” | 11/09/2021 | None | 100% |
| Sead Kolasinac | Other | Sept 09: “Again, they will assess him this afternoon on whether he is fit or not. He is one the doubts that we have.” | 11/09/2021 | None | 100% |
| Takehiro Tomiyasu | Other | Sept 09: “We need the work permit first. The club is trying hard to achieve that in the next couple of hours. I will meet him for the first time today, probably, and train with him.” | 11/09/2021 | None | 100% |
| Thomas Partey | Ankle/Foot Injury | Sept 09: “Thomas is now back in full training and available for selection.” | 11/09/2021 | None | 100% |
| Edward Nketiah | Ankle/Foot Injury | Sept 09: “Eddie is now back in full training and available for selection.” | 11/09/2021 | None | 100% |
So all of the players on our list are available, except one, which is good news indeed.
Norwich
| Player | Reason | Further Detail | Potential Return | Condition | Status |
| Christos Tzolis | Calf/Shin/Heel Injury | Sept 10: “This afternoon we have another session and if he comes through that without any problems with his calf then he will be available and that will be good news for us.” | 11/09/2021 | Late Fitness Test | 75% |
| Bali Mumba | Knee Injury | Aug 27: “Bali will miss the game. He dislocated his knee from a bad tackle in the last game. I hope he can return after the international break.” | 11/09/2021 | Late Fitness Test | 75% |
| Kenny McLean | Other | Knock | 11/09/2021 | Late Fitness Test | 75% |
| Joshua Sargent | Thigh Injury | Tight Hamstring | 11/09/2021 | Late Fitness Test | 25% |
| Przemyslaw Placheta | Other | Aug 27: “We have to play without Przemyslaw Placheta, he’s still struggling with symptoms after his COVID-19 infection.” | 11/09/2021 | None | Ruled Out |
| Sam Byram | Thigh Injury | Aug 20: “He does some bits and pieces on the pitch. We have to be careful, but sadly he is a bit too far away from being involved [with the under-23s] tonight.” | No Return Date | None | Ruled Out |
| Christoph Zimmermann | Ankle/Foot Injury | Ankle Injury | No Return Date | Currently Being Assessed | Ruled Out |
| Dimitris Giannoulis | Upper Back/Neck Injury | Upper Back Pain | No Return Date | Currently Being Assessed | Ruled Out |
More of a problem there for Norwich than for Arsenal, and of course we have a greater squad.
Arsenal’s squad measures 28 players in the Premier League (remembering of course that those under 21 on the declaration day don’t count). Norwich go with one fewer – 27 players, according to the official Premier League list.
So Arsenal have one quarter of their squad out injured while Norwich have 30% of their squad injured. Large numbers indeed for so early in the season.
These incredibly high numbers, and suggest that a) playing internationals at a time of such high injury levels is crazy, and b) there is something wrong in terms of the way referees protect players from injury. Of course not all injuries are caused by bad tackles, but with this level of injury really everything possible ought to be done to reduce it.
More tomorrow and then we are off to the game.
Obviously the club need the win & points. I think they’ll do it if they show up with respect for the opponent and don’t look shocked if the Canaries push back. In other words, the opposite to the approach toward Brentford.
Just back home from the game. It was a good match where Arsenal had several chances but just didn’t seem hungry enough to finish.
The officials didn’t disappoint and Norwich got away with several yellows and perhaps a red when Auba was pulled down be the last defender.
Tomiyasu was excellent and showed a lot of class. The subs brought a little difference to the team but the hunger was missing. there was no aggression as PGMOL have an agenda that got both Partey and White yellow cards for fouls that went happily by when Norwich comitted worse.
3 points and a 1-0 is all we needed, so thank you PGMOL for that.