Gameweek 14 is upon us and this weekend the Gunners take on Norwich City. The Canaries have been below par since their promotion to the Barclays Premier League and currently sit just three points above the relegation zone. Arsenal, on the other hand, have endured a mixed season thus far. They sit fourth in the league and are clinging on to their hopes of progression to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League. They will be looking to earn a big win this weekend in order to rise back up the table and keep the pressure on Manchester City at the top spot.
The main man who the Gunners need to be wary of is Nathan Redmond. The former Birmingham City player has been in fine form for Norwich this season and has certainly been the catalyst for any success that they have had so far. The 21-year-old has widely been tipped for his full international debut and looks to be on his way to earning the accolade. The youngster bares a striking resemblance to Manchester City star Raheem Sterling in his play style. He excels with the ball at his feet and despite not having the best goalscoring record, he isn’t afraid to try his luck in front of goal and as such needs to be contained. He isn’t afraid to run at defenders and will always try to take them on the outside. To counteract Redmond, the Arsenal full backs need to make sure that they give him what he wants. If they show him the outside then he will obviously take that route. However, once there they must make sure to prevent a cross from being launched into the box. If they can stop Redmond from creating chances then most of Norwich’s attacking threat will be eliminated.
The other notable player in the Canaries’ squad is Cameron Jerome. The towering striker has a fairly good scoring record for Norwich, netting 22 times in 50 appearances and so will certainly prove a nuisance in the box. The main threat he poses to Petr Cech’s goal is his height. he will always be looking to beat the Arsenal defenders in the air to launch a fierce header at goal. The best way to deal with Jerome is to keep Per Mertesacker on him. The German easily matches Jerome for height and should be able to compete in the air for any high crosses. Ultimately, if the Arsenal defence stop any crosses from being played into the box, then Jerome’s impact will be severely limited.
In terms of attack, the Gunners need to maintain the finesse and creativity that they showed against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League this week. Joel Campbell proved in that match that he can be a useful asset to Arsene Wenger’s side. As such, he could be a very good player to play against Norwich; as long as he stays on his left side, then he would prove a terror for most defences.
The Gunners should be looking to make up for last weekend’s shambolic performance against West Brom to fight their way back to the top two. A win against Norwich would see them keep up the pace with Manchester City and give their title challenge a boost. Expect Alex Neil’s side to sit deep and counter-attack, but the Gunners should have enough quality to see out any threats from the opposition and break down their defence.
