If ever there was an afternoon when any win would do, then this was it. Arsenal’s performance here will not live long in the memory and nor will the winning goal, snaffled halfway through the second half by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the Norwich woodwork had staged a bout of pinball, but Mikel Arteta will simply be relieved they are off the mark. His new-look side showed glimmers of genuine potential but nobody present will be left under too many illusions as to how much work is required to effect a meaningful recovery.
Norwich did not ask too many questions, even if they performed tidily enough, and a fourth straight defeat means they badly need a result against Watford next weekend if their hopes of survival are not to appear remote already. They raged about the deciding goal but ultimately failed to expose the omnipresent local anxieties.
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