Premier League Preview: Arsenal - Norwich City


With Chelsea focusing on the FA Cup and Tottenham given the weekend off, the Gunners will relish the chance to leapfrog their rivals against Chris Hughton's struggling side.

Arsenal's Theo Walcott (groin) and Jack Wilshere (ankle) are in contention for the visit of the Canaries, though whether Arsene Wenger risks them from the off remains to be seen, even with last week's matchwinner Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) described as "50-50" for the match by the Gunners boss.
Otherwise, the home side will be missing Per Mertesacker after he was sent off against West Brom last week, while Abou Diaby (knee) remains sidelined for the foreseeable future.
With John Ruddy (hip) still out, Norwich manager Chris Hughton will be sweating on the fitness of Mark Bunn (groin) after third-choice goalkeeper Lee Camp was called into action after just 15 minutes last week against Swansea.
Andrew Surman (knee) continues to miss out for the visitors, though fellow midfielder Anthony Pilkington (hamstring) is available for selection.
Since Christmas, Arsenal has scored in every game bar the 2-0 loss to Manchester City.
  • The Gunners have won seven of their last nine games and are second only to runaway leaders Manchester United in the form table.
     
  • When Arsene Wenger's side has scored first in the league this season, it has not lost a game.
     
  • Of Olivier Giroud's (pictured right) 10 Premier League goals this season, nine have been scored at the Emirates Stadium.
     
  • The last time the two teams met at the Emirates Stadium the game ended in a 3-3 draw, with Steve Morison firing in a late equalizer for the visitors.
     
  • Norwich has just two players who have scored five Premier League goals this season (Holt and Snodgrass), whereas the Gunners have six (Walcott, Giroud, Podolski, Cazorla, Gervinho, Arteta).
     
  • The visitors have won only once in the Premier League since Christmas, drawing seven of their last 11 games.
     
  • The Canaries have also only scored just twice away from home since the start of 2013.
     
  • If the Premier League were based solely on second-half results, Norwich would be 18th in the table, with just 33 points.

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