The Gunners head to Carrow Road on the back of a disappointing defeat last time out in the Premier League, which cost them the chance to climb to the top of the congested division.
Five defeats from their last six games has left Norwich hovering three points above the drop zone and in real danger of seeing a decent enough start completely fade away.
The pressure had just been beginning to mount on miracle worker Alex Neil, who was given more than a little respite thanks to a huge 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Swansea City prior to the recent two-week break.
That victory over the Swans – only their third of the campaign to date – ended a run of four defeats on the bounce at just the right time, but the Canaries then came up against an improved Chelsea side last weekend.
City remained defensively resilient for large parts of that tight contest at Stamford Bridge, yet it was a real lapse of concentration from a quick Cesc Fabregas free kick which ultimately cost them a share of the spoils in the end.
Despite the barren run of form, and a tough run of fixtures to come against the likes of Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and of course Arsenal, the mood still remains relatively high inside the dressing room.
Those confidence levels could prove key in the club’s survival hopes, having shown plenty of character in the second half of last season to get their campaign firmly back on track and gain promotion back to the top flight under their Scottish head coach.
While Norwich have indeed run many of the big sides close this season, a high number of goals being shipped has to be a concern for the Canaries, who have kept a league-low one clean sheet and conceded a total of 24 goals in all so far.
Neil claimed in his pre-match press conference ahead of this one that his side are exactly where they would want to be at this stage of the campaign, but the East Anglian outfit must now start putting some points on the board if they are not to be sucked into the bottom three.
Arsenal supporters can very much be forgiven for thinking this campaign represents a snapshot of the last trophy-shy decade of football under Arsene Wenger, with the club moving from one extreme to the other.
A slow start to the season, in which the Gunners collected just four points from a possible nine, was then followed up by eight wins from nine to put them right back in the title chase.
Yet since a professional 2-1 win against Everton at the end of October, the frailties have perhaps started to show once more as mixed results have quickly followed.
There was the resounding defeat to Sheffield Wednesday to see their League Cup campaign come to an end while, more disappointingly, points have been dropped against Tottenham and West Bromwich Albion in recent weeks. Throw into the mix a real humiliating defeat at the home of Bayern Munich, shipping five goals in their joint-heaviest European loss, and all the hallmarks are there for another season of ‘what-ifs’.
It also explains why so many fans opted to stay away from the Emirates Stadium in midweek for the 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb, which kept the Gunners’ Champions League hopes alive but still left them with a big task to pull off in Athens next month.Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Martin, Bennett, Bassong, Olsson; Howson, Mulumbu, O’Neil, Redmond, Brady; MbokaniArsenal possible starting lineup:
Cech; Monreal, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Bellerin; Sanchez, Cazorla, Flamini, Ozil, Campbell; Giroud
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