Arsenal vs Norwich City

Emirates Stadium is the venue as Arsenal and Norwich City go head-to-head in a bottom-of-the-table Premier League showdown.

With rumors about Arsene Wenger’s return to the Emirates echoing around the English press, the pressure is on Mikel Arteta to navigate Arsenal’s escape from the drop zone. A run of three successive Premier League losses without reply to open the new top-flight season represents Arsenal’s worst-ever league start as they enter this round rooted to the foot of the standings. Desperate to snap a 270-minute goal drought in the Premier League, the ‘Gunners’ line up against a side they’ve thrashed in four straight top-flight H2Hs at home by an aggregate score of 12-2. By extension, the struggling London heavyweights have gone unbeaten in eight consecutive home league H2Hs (W6, D2) since losing 4-2 at Highbury in August 1992, notably scoring 3+ goals in six of their last seven such encounters.

On the other hand, the visitors have done nothing to defy their underdog status since returning to the Premier League, losing their opening three league fixtures by an aggregate score of 10-1. Touted for a season-long dogfight against the drop, Norwich take the field winless in their last 13 away Premier League matches (D2, L11), a run that includes a 5-0 hammering to Manchester City in their first league trip of the season. A 2-1 home defeat to Leicester City last time out took Norwich’s losing streak in England’s top-flight to 13 games, with the ‘Canaries’ returning an embarrassing -32 goal difference from that spread of fixtures (GF:2, GA:34). A trip to London is likely to stir some painful memories in the traveling camp, as they’ve failed to win any of their last 23 top-flight contests in the capital (D6, L17).