A look at Arsenal's upcoming fixtures show that it was pivotal that they won today. After some nervous moments, particularly when Norwich got the score back to 2-1, the Gunners did just that, which increasingly familiar chants of, “we are top of the league” ringing out around The Emirates.
Wojciech Szczesny - 7 – Some may criticise him for Norwich's goal, but in his defence, he was unsighted by Kieran Gibbs. And he made a series of decent saves when Norwich looked threatening towards the end of the first-half. Another solid display.
Bacary Sagna – 7 – Marshalled the right-hand side of the pitch well, although the quality of his crosses weren't as consistent as he would have liked. Defended with aplomb, however, often having to deal with both Anthony Pilkington and Martin Olsson.
Per Mertesacker – 6 – Not a poor performance, but slightly below the high standards we've come to expect from the German. Made a fine block in the first-half, but made a poor attempt at a clearance in the second, which led to Jonny Howson's goal.
Laurent Koscielny – 7 – A fine display. He made a series of important covering tackles, and managed to balance his game between getting tight to his man, without being reckless. He'll need to give a similar performance on Tuesday night.
Kieran Gibbs - 7 – I know I've said this a few times this season, but it's really heartening to see how much Gibbs' defending has improved. He played Robert Snodgrass excellently. While he gets forward well, he could do with working on his crossing from out wide.
Mikel Arteta – 7 – Very hit and miss from the captain. Ran the midfield as Arsenal dominated the early exchanges, but seemed to be negatively affected by Flamini's injury. He looked swamped for about a 25 minute spell either side of half-time, but he regained control when Arsenal stepped up a gear late on.
Mathieu Flamini – 6 – A neat and tidy display, and in tandem with Arteta, he laid the platform for Arsenal's early dominance. However, a clash of heads meant he had to be substituted with a concussion. His importance to the side could become painfully apparent in his absence.
Mesut Ozil – 9 – This is why we spent all that money. Ozil was a constant threat to Norwich. His movement off the ball is what most impressed me. Watch the way he found space for his two goals. It's an underrated facet of his abilities. Abilities which make Arsenal such a dangerous prospect when attacking these days.
Jack Wilshere – 7 – His predilection for cutting inside means that Wilshere's probably better suited to the right flank, than the left one. He had licence to try the difficult things, meaning that he sometimes conceded possession, but also made some important contributions in attacking moves, none more so than his goal, which may be as good a goal as we've seen from Arsenal in years.
Santi Cazorla - 6 – It would be unfair to have expected too much from Cazorla today. He was very short of match-fitness, and as such, was largely on the fringes of the contest. The Spaniard was substituted after 59 minutes, but not before playing a role in Ozil's first goal.
Olivier Giroud – 8 – The Frenchman showed that his importance to Arsenal goes further than his goalscoring. His two assists showed high class, especially as one required a delicate touch, while the other needed vision, and the right weight of pass. He remains arguably the key man in the Gunners squad.
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Aaron Ramsey – 7 - Initially, I felt Ramsey was either tired from playing for Wales last week, or was hit by the “player of the month” curse, as he wasn't playing well. Then he had a couple of long range shots that John Ruddy did well to save, and Ramsey was re-energised. He was magnificent in the game's closing stages, scoring a glorious solo goal, and assisting Ozil's second goal with a sublime touch.
Tomas Rosicky – 6 – Didn't do a lot wrong, without really affecting the play. But he deserves credit for a fine cross which led to the fourth goal.
Nicklas Bentdner – Forced Ruddy into a decent save. Maybe getting close to match-fitness.
A tough test awaits Arsenal with Borussia Dortmund our next opponents, but some of our football shows we're in decent shape in preparation for the German club. I felt journalist, Michael Cox's appraisal of the match was an accurate one; “A 7/10 performance with 10/10 goals.”
With Dortmund, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United all to come, we may need get our performance levels up to about 8/10. And if we see goals like the ones we produced against Norwich, so much the better.
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