Back in the summer, Arsenal knew they needed a playmaker. With Mesut Ozil leaving the club earlier in the year, links to Houssem Aouar were rife again. But Martin Odegaard’s fine display against Norwich suggests the Gunners were right to choose the Norway international over the Lyon star.
Arsenal beat Norwich comfortably at Carrow Road, boosting their chances of finishing in the Premier League top four with an emphatic 5-0 win.
Bukayo Saka got the ball rolling early on, with the England international scoring for a second game in a row, with Kieran Tierney then notching.
Saka, Alexandre Lacazette and Emile Smith Rowe then helped Arsenal further put Norwich to the sword with goals in the final 23 minutes, damaging the Canaries’ chances of staying in the top flight.
It was a straightforward day at the office for Mikel Arteta’s team, who have now won their last five matches across all competitions.
Express Sport will now take a look at four things we learned from the match.
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Saka continues to shine
There were fears for Saka at the start of the season.
Having missed a crucial penalty for England in the Euro 2020 final against Italy, some were worried the youngster’s confidence would be rocked.
Yet Saka is silencing his critics and, against Norwich, produced another storming performance.
At the age of 20, it’s scary to think the youngster has time on his side to get even better and better.
Arsenal deserve immense credit for the way the forward is developing, with Saka now one of this team’s most-important players.
Tierney states a claim again
Until a few weeks ago, Tierney was struggling to win round Arteta despite being a popular player at the Emirates.
However, the Scotland international is now showing why so many fans decide to get his name on their jerseys.
Tierney went into the game on the back of positive displays against Southampton, West Ham and Leeds.
Yet this was arguably his best showing yet, with the former Celtic star posing Norwich all sorts of problems on the left flank.
If Tierney keeps this up, the left-back slot will be his to lose.
Norwich look destined to drop
When Norwich hired Dean Smith, it seemed a good appointment.
Having done well at Brentford and Aston Villa, amongst others, there was a hope he would be able to keep the Canaries in the Premier League.
But Smith clearly has his work cut out.
Norwich were dire from the first minute against Arsenal and never looked likely to take a point, never mind all three.
They’re likely to stay at the bottom of the table now, potentially throughout the whole season.
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