Norwich vs Arsenal

Norwich vs Arsenal 23.12.2021

• Arsenal have won nine of their last 12 competitive games, with six of those being accompanied by a clean sheet.
• Four of these six wins to nil have been by 2-0 scorelines.
• Norwich have lost three in a row without scoring.
• Gabriel Martinelli has scored three goals in his last two Premier League appearances.

Canaries honeymoon period comes to an end

Norwich’s honeymoon spell under Dean Smith didn’t last quite as long as Canaries fans will have hoped and, following their 2-0 loss to Aston Villa last week, they find themselves on a three-match losing streak.

Their brief respite from this terrible form did give them some hope in the relegation battle though. They are now just three points from safety and only a point separates the bottom three, but they need to rediscover their form quickly to avoid being cast adrift once again.

Unfortunately for them, that turnaround is unlikely to come at Carrow Road on Boxing Day, with a raft of injuries and COVID-19 absences putting them on the back foot against an in-form Arsenal side.

Arsenal continue upward trajectory

The Gunners secured their position in the EFL Cup semi-final with a demolition of Sunderland on Tuesday and they have now won four in a row in all competitions, scoring an impressive 14 goals in the process.

Indeed, Arsenal’s early-season calamities seem a lifetime ago. They have won nine of their last 12 in all competitions and pushed themselves into the top four with their most recent win at Elland Road.

Gunners set for straightforward win

Another straightforward Gunners win is expected, and with them keeping a clean sheet in six of their last eight victories I don’t expect Norwich to offer much resistance. The hosts have scored just one goal in their last five matches and could be without as many as ten players, so I’m backing Arsenal to win to nil.

Four of these six recent wins to nil have been by a 2-0 scoreline and Norwich have conceded an average of two goals per game over the last three matches, so that’s my pick for a correct score prediction.

Gabriel Martinelli is worth consideration in the anytime goalscorer market, too. He has netted three goals in his last two Premier League appearances and has four goals and two assists across his last six league games.

Norwich predicted lineup: Krul; Aarons, Kabak, Gibson, Williams; Normann, Gilmour, McLean; Placheta, Cantwell, Pukki

Arsenal predicted lineup: Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, White, Magalhaes, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Lacazette