Norwich City

3.50

• 
  9

  0

  3.50

  John Ruddy

  Very confident display from the goalkeeper. Most of what he had to deal with was food and drink to him, but whenever he was called upon he did his job, and you cannot ask for much more.

• 
  6

  0

  4.00

  Russell Martin

  Probably won’t have many easier matches in the Premier League than this. Podolski gave the Scot very little to think about, while Arshavin hardly did much more after coming on.

• 
  6

  0

  3.50

  S. Bassong

  Looked comfortable when handling the isolated Giroud. Put in a composed performance alongside Turner.

• 
  6

  0

  4.00

  Michael Turner

  The summer signing has not won many admirers since arriving and some sections of the Norwich support even greeted his name with boos before the match, but today he will have silenced a lot of the doubters. He won header after header, put in several blocks and threatened at the other end too.

• 
  9

  0

  4.00

  Javier Garrido Top of the Match

  Very good performance by the former Manchester City man. He did not offer much of a threat going forward, but defensively he was rock-solid. He had Gervinho in his back pocket, forcing the Ivorian to swap wings, and he prevented a number of crosses from getting into the penalty area.

• 
  7

  0

  3.50

  Bradley Johnson

  In possession, he was very neat for the most part and he did a good job at shielding his defence at times, but Arsenal’s midfield were in control for much of the match. He had few answers for Cazorla when the Spaniard was on the ball, often resorting to fouling him, but otherwise he put in a good shift.

• 
  5

  0

  2.50

  Anthony Pilkington

  The former Huddersfield man was very positive throughout, running at Jenkinson whenever given the opportunity to. He looked one of Norwich’s most threatening players with his hassling of opponents and shooting, but he faded badly after the break.

• 
  4

  0

  3.50

  Wesley Hoolahan

  Very quiet before half-time, but burst into life after. The Irishman suddenly found a reserve of energy and was everywhere in the second half. His final ball was often wayward, but he forced Arteta back more than he would have liked.

• 
  3

  0

  2.50

  Elliott Bennett

  Looked lively early on, but he very rarely attacked Andre Santos and was disappointing in that respect. Eventually replaced by Snodgrass after a quiet start to the second half.

• 
  8

  0

  4.00

  Alexander Tettey

  Alongside Johnson, Tettey was tasked to be the more forward-thinking of the duo, and although he did not put in many defensive tackles, he was more effective going forward. His passing was accurate and the opening goal came after Mannone spilled his long-range shot. Powerful performance, and impressive.

• 
  10

  1

  3.50

  Grant Holt

  Has been looking a lot more like the player he was last season in recent weeks, and although he often looked isolated and lonely up front, he was not ineffective. He put himself about, constantly closed down the Arsenal defence, tussled with Mertesacker and grabbed himself a goal after gambling on Mannone spilling Tettey’s shot.

Substitutions

• 
  1

  0

  Robert Snodgrass

  Came on for Bennett as the Canaries looked to see out the win and was forced to defend for his entire cameo.

• 
  3

  0

  Steve Morison

  On very late for Holt, and had no time to make an impact.

Arsenal

2.50

• 
  7

  31

  2.00

  Vito Mannone

  Looked shaky throughout the match, whether that was when the ball was played back to him on the floor, or when making saves. The Italian was at fault for Holt’s goal, failing to hold on to Tettey’s shot

• 
  8

  19

  2.50

  Per Mertesacker

  Had to contend with the physical Holt and did so with mixed success. The German managed to get a tackle in on several occasions, but he often seemed to shy away from clashes with him, while the English striker outpaced him to knock in the rebound from Tettey’s powerful shot.

• 
  17

  11

  3.00

  Thomas Vermaelen

  With Holt opting to try his luck against Mertesacker for most of the match, Vermaelen had little to deal with directly, but what he did have to defend he did with minimal fuss. The Belgian made several blocks to prevent crosses, as well as a number of clearing headers.

• 
  4

  25

  2.50

  Andre Santos

  The Brazilian was there to be got at as arguably the most obvious weak point in the Arsenal defence, but Elliott Bennett was rarely used, meaning Santos had a fairly quiet evening defensively. That lack of defensive responsibilities did not result in extra attacking impetus, however.

• 
  25

  7

  3.50

  Carl Jenkinson

  The young full-back has been earning rave reviews from Gunners fans this season and he put in another good display. He was up against Pilkington who certainly gave him something to think about, but Jenkinson generally had the better of the duel.

• 
  25

  5

  3.50

  Mikel Arteta

  A decent enough display from the former Everton man as he sat deep, passed well and put in several tackles. Very few faults in his performance.

• 
  8

  27

  2.50

  Aaron Ramsey

  Full of running and was always in support of his team-mates in the centre, but like the rest of the Gunners’ midfield he could not carve open many opportunities, with Olivier Giroud feeding off scraps.

• 
  21

  13

  3.00

  Santi Cazorla

  The Spaniard always wanted the ball and generally used it well, while also produced some brilliant touches, but in terms of creating chances he was quiet and his set-piece deliveries were disappointing.

• 
  8

  32

  1.50

  Lukas Podolski Flop of the Match

  Similarly to Gervinho, a rather disappointing performance from the German. He struggled to get involved out on the left-wing, and when he did Russell Martin was equal to him, meaning he was not able to supply a great deal for Giroud.

• 
  8

  27

  2.00

  Olivier Giroud

  Anonymous in the first half, but showed a little more hunger after the break. In the second period he was trying to get on the end of deliveries and passes more, although he was not having much more luck. In truth the supply to him was far from what you would expect of Arsenal, and there was not much he could do about that.

• 
  5

  28

  2.00

  Gervinho

  His touch was off, and he failed to beat Garrido for the whole match and put in next to no crosses. Very disappointing performance from the Ivorian who had little impact.

Substitutions

• 
  9

  20

  2.00

  Andrey Arshavin

  On for the injured Oxlade-Chamberlain, but did very little.

• 
  15

  15

  Serge Gnabry

  On for the final 15 minutes, but the 17-year-old could not make the breakthrough with a quiet introduction.

• 
  12

  13

  Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

  Replaced Podolski, but was on for a few minutes as he picked up an injury.