Norwich City claimed their first Premier League victory of the season against Arsene Wenger's Arsenal this evening.
A first-half goal from striker Grant Holt was all that separated the two sides at Carrow Road.
With many pundits having tipped the Gunners to come away from Norfolk with a big victory, Sports Mole has cast an eye over the encounter to see if the visitors can feel hard done by.
Match statistics:
Norwich:
Shots 7
On target 3
Possession 38%
Corners 2
Fouls 9
Arsenal:
Shots 13
On target 7
Possession 62%
Corners 10
Fouls 9
Was the result fair?
Sometimes when a struggling side upsets the form book, the result can be put down to a huge slice of luck - not today though. Unlike the majority of the season so far, Norwich were watertight at the back and got forward in numbers. They disrupted Arsenal's rhythm and fully deserved the three points.
Norwich's performance
Chris Hughton got his tactics spot on today. He started the match with five in midfield in an attempt to stop Arsenal from playing their passing game. It couldn't have gone much better for Hughton and his men, who had a couple of chances to extend their lead even further in the closing stages.
Arsenal's performance
The usual line when Arsenal get beaten is that they failed to convert their chances. Today was different. In truth they struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities, with John Ruddy in the Norwich goal rarely called into any testing action.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Sebastien Bassong: There are several Norwich players who will quite rightly feel that they deserve this award. However, Cameroon international Bassong was the best of a very good bunch. His pace helped him deal with a number of Arsenal attacks - a point highlighted by his challenge on Gervinho in the closing stages as the Ivorian looked to be in on goal.
Biggest gaffe
When a goalkeeper makes an error it normally results in a goal and today was no different. Vito Mannone got down well the stop Alexander Tettey's bouncing effort, but only managed to push the ball straight out into the area. Holt was alert and sent the rebound into the net. Granted Mannone couldn't hold Tettey's shot, but he should have sent the ball away from danger.
Referee performance
It took a search of the team sheet once the final whistle had gone to find out who the official was - that's how anonymous Lee Probert was. That's by no means a negative thing though. An unseen referee is a good referee.
What next?
Norwich: The Canaries will come up against a familiar face in the form of Paul Lambert when they travel to Aston Villa next Saturday afternoon.
Arsenal: After taking on Schalke in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, Queens Park Rangers will travel to the Emirates Stadium a week today.
Liam Apicella
