Life post Unai Emery for Arsenal ended in a draw.
The Gunners had to twice come from behind to snatch a point against Norwich City in a game which saw Freddie Ljungberg take charge as well as some VAR controversy.
Here's how we rated the Arsenal players in Ljungberg's first game in head coach.
Bernd Leno: Yet again there was nothing Arsenal’s goalkeeper could do about Norwich’s goals but when he was able to make an intervention he certainly did. His sprawling effort to deny Kenny McClean will surely rank among the finest saves of Leno’s career and the instinctive boot he put out to deny Teemu Pukki soon after was not bad either. 8
Calum Chambers: For both of Norwich’s first half goals the right-back was far too high up the pitch, asking of Shkodran Mustafi a standard of defending that he is not capable of. He may have combined well with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in attack but that came at the cost of more fundamental responsibilities. 4
Shkodran Mustafi: The German, playing his first Premier League minutes of the season, has made far worse errors than his failure to manage space when Norwich countered midway through the first half but he was punished all the same when Pukki’s strike deflected in off him.
There could be no such excuse for Norwich’s second. Mustafi was too slow to get to Todd Cantwell, who had time to control the ball and roll it into the far post before an opponent got a tackle in.
This was a harsh wake up call for Mustafi. He might perhaps have wanted more support from his midfield but the truth is that whenever Pukki, a good but unremarkable forward, got one on one with him there was only ever one winner. 4
David Luiz: At times Luiz was a little cavalier in possession, on one memorable occasion stepping deep into Norwich territory only to lose the ball. Worse he defended Pukki poorly indeed for the Canaries’ opener. 5
Sead Kolasinac: He was at least sufficiently mobile to ensure that Norwich didn’t have the same joy on his flank they did on the opposing. Indeed with Mesut Ozil regularly flitting infield Kolasinac performed impressively in holding down the left flank. 6
Granit Xhaka: If he performed impressive work for Arsenal in the build-up it came with the caveat that he was the member of a triangle, Chambers and Mustafi, without pace at the back. Once Norwich passed around him, which they did all too easily, their passage to goal was all too easily. 5
Matteo Guendouzi: Notably under Ljungberg Guendouzi seems more prepared than ever to run with the ball rather than lay it off to a team-mate. Like so many of his team-mates he was guilty of his fair share of defensive lapses, most notably playing through McLean just after Arsenal’s second equaliser. Luckily for him Leno somehow came to his rescue. 5
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Usually he would lose a point for missing a penalty but Norwich’s inability to stay outside the box until the penalty was taken gave him a reprieve and he showed nerves of steel to put away the second attempt.
Just as the pressure was building on Ljungberg’s side Aubameyang came up trumps as he had done so often for Emery, a superb drilled finish at the back post to level the scores at 2-2. 8
Joe Willock: The star of the show with Ljungberg at Under-23 level repaid his new coach’s faith in part this afternoon, functioning early on as a powerful link between Arsenal’s midfield and attack that they have needed for some time.
His pressing added an important new wrinkle to Arsenal but in the second half he appeared to be struggling with the intensity of his opponents. 6
Mesut Ozil: His set pieces caused continual headaches for the Norwich defence, ultimately leading to Aubameyang’s penalty, but he was no less dangerous from open play. Against disciplined opponents his appreciation of space was perhaps Arsenal’s most valuable asset. 7
Alexandre Lacazette: Though he invariably had the right idea, dropping into space to link play and make space for forwards to dart into, Lacazette’s execution was not always at up to his high standard. 5
Subs:
Lucas Torreira (sub, Willock, 70’): He perhaps only made one significant contribution but his late dive to block a cross from the left might have saved Arsenal from defeat. 5
Bukayo Saka (sub, Guendouzi, 78’): It is a shame that his substitution should be defined as a snub aimed at Nicolas Pepe as much as Ljungberg backing a player he got impressive performances from last season. Saka only had a few moments and unfortunately was overpowered as often as he was able to get at the Norwich defence. 5
Gabriel Martinelli (sub, Ozil, 89'): N/A
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