Arsenal vs Norwich City Player Ratings

Arsenal and Norwich City squared off at the Emirates in a game that could doom the Canaries to relegation. Here are Pain in the Arsenal’s player ratings.

The 12th minute protest from Arsenal fans towards manager Arsene Wenger and chairman Stan Kroenke overshadowed a somewhat drab match at the Emirates between Arsenal and Norwich City.

The Gunners failed to muster a shot on target in the first half and looked particularly tepid in possession in Norwich’s half, especially Olivier Giroud, who had a very poor first 45 minutes.

In the second period Danny Welbeck was brought on as a substitute for Alex Iwobi, and he scored the game’s only goal in the 59th minute with a deflected shot from the edge of the box.

Arsenal didn’t impress on the offensive end, and it made for a very strange atmosphere at the Gunners’ home ground that featured both criticism and fervent support for under-fire manager Arsene Wenger.

Here are Pain in the Arsenal’s player ratings.

6.6. Petr Cech had quite a boring game in net, but he was required to make two snapshot saves from Nathan Redmond’s shots that could have beaten him had his reflexes been absent. Another game with not much to do for the Czech legend.. GK. Arsenal FC. PETR CECH

HECTOR BELLERIN. 6.7. Even though he has been very active on the right side, Hector Bellerin’s deliveries have been awful in recent weeks. Could never earn a rating higher than seven for all of the balls he fails to find a teammate with today. However, he didn’t make any defensive errors that led to goals and therefore he’s got an average rating today.. RB. Arsenal FC

6.7. Per Mertesacker’s game came to an abrupt end during the second half when he pulled up after sprinting for a ball that was over his head and Gabriel Paulista had to replace him. While in the game he was a confident defender – but, as always, when a ball is hit over his head or in behind him everyone takes a deep breath.. CB. Arsenal FC. PER MERTESACKER

CB. Arsenal FC. LAURENT KOSCIELNY. 7.4. Commanding performance from Arsenal’s longest-serving defensive player, he made a number of successful defensive challenges as well as making up his teammates’ mistakes passing the ball. Wasn’t challenged a whole lot as he was facing Norwich, but nonetheless a very good performance.

6.7. Nacho Monreal was solid defensively on the defensive end, and while he didn’t get a whole lot of action on the overlap on the left side he <em>also</em> didn’t find the target with many of his crosses and inward balls.. LB. Arsenal FC. NACHO MONREAL

MOHAMED EL NENY. 7.0. Started slowly and was misplacing a few passes, but grew into the game and nearly scored an insane shot from the edge of the box with the outside of his boot. Has had a good experience in the Arsenal first team, and has clearly warmed to his teammates a bit. Promising from El Neny.. MID. Arsenal FC

Did very little on the offensive end, and doesn’t get back and stuck in enough to make that part not matter. Ramsey has been properly off the boil for a while now, and today looked no better. Aside from making Gary O’Neill go to ground with two silky fake shots, he didn’t ruffle Norwich’s feathers a bit.. MID. Arsenal FC. AARON RAMSEY. 6.5

MID. Arsenal FC. ALEXIS SANCHEZ. 6.9. Very active running with and without the ball, but because Norwich cramped the space in the final third he was a bit ineffective. Alexis receives a higher rating that some people who also didn’t have a huge impact simply because of how hard he works during the game, but it’s getting a bit stale to laud him for that since he sometimes doesn’t have an effect. Though he has been involved in eight goals in his last ten games, today was not his recent best.

6.8. Made some crazy passes during the game, but his teammates didn’t put any of them away. The German looked passionate for some parts of the game, but also too languid at other times. Sometimes I wonder what else he CAN do to make himself get a higher rating other than get on the scoresheet, and from this season it appears not much. Played well as the ‘playmaker’ but he didn’t have much to show for it.. MID. Arsenal FC. MESUT OZIL

6.8. Made some crazy passes during the game, but his teammates didn’t put any of them away. The German looked passionate for some parts of the game, but also too languid at other times. Sometimes I wonder what else he <em>can</em> do to make himself get a higher rating other than get on the scoresheet, and from this season it appears not much. Played well as Arsenal’s ‘playmaker’ but he didn’t have much to show for it.. MID. Arsenal FC. MESUT OZIL

6.5. Alex Iwobi was taken off for the eventual match-winner, and for good reason: he wasn’t direct enough, and he didn’t penetrate the Norwich defense. The Nigerian needs to be aware of that defensive setup that teams use at the Emirates and learn how to adjust, or else he will end up like the rest of the off-form Arsenal players, just passing it sideways around the opposition area.. MID. Arsenal FC. ALEX IWOBI

ST. Arsenal FC. OLIVIER GIROUD. 6.3. Olivier Giroud provided a nice knockdown assist for Danny Welbeck in the second half, but apart from that he was dreadful. Truly dreadful, he looks void of confidence, incapable of dribbling and too scared to shoot the ball when given a half-chance.

6.9. Made an incredibly important sliding tackle when a dangerous ball was played into Cameron Jerome. As a second half substitute for Mertesacker he did exactly what was required of him, and it was impressive to see that Arsenal didn’t wilt late on in the game when the players were tired and the game was being stretched from end to end.. CB. Arsenal FC. GABRIEL PAULISTA

7.6. [PLAYER OF THE MATCH] All the praise in the world goes to Danny Welbeck for being energetic when he came on as a substitute for Alex Iwobi. He scored a terrific half-volley in the 59th minute to make the score 1-0 and continued to challenge the Norwich defenders after he scored.. ST. Arsenal FC. DANNY WELBECK