Arsenal will look to strengthen their hold on a Champions League place when they host Norwich City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.

The Gunners would move up to third in the table for 24 hours at least with a victory, but they take on a Norwich side who could climb out of the relegation zone.

Arsenal

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Arsene Wenger will be taking charge of his 750th Premier League game as Arsenal boss this weekend, but if a growing section of fans get their way, there won't be many more to come for the Frenchman.

Two prominent supporters' groups have announced plans to protest the way the club is being run by both the board and Wenger himself following another disappointing season.

The Gunners led the way at the start of the year and appeared to be on course to end their 12-year wait for the title, with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City struggling to match their pace.

Fast forward to the final month of the season and they are now mathematically out of the title race, with 12 points separating them from Leicester City going into the last three games of the campaign.

Instead, they must now focus on securing a Champions League place for next season, with Manchester United lurking five points behind and boasting a game in hand that could close the gap to an uneasy two.

Victory for the Gunners would see them leapfrog Man City back into third temporarily, but wins have been hard to come by for Arsenal over the past few weeks, with three draws and just the one victory from their last four outings.

Their title hopes were extinguished once and for all in typically underwhelming style last weekend as Sunderland climbed out of the bottom three with a goalless draw at the Stadium of Light, the Black Cats joining West Ham United and Crystal Palace to have taken points off Arsenal in successive weekends.

Failure to beat another relegation candidate this weekend would only increase the growing pressure on Wenger's shoulders, and with Man City awaiting in the penultimate game of the season, it could also have a hugely damaging impact on their top-four hopes.

Their final game of the campaign looks like a banker at home to already-relegated Aston Villa, but even at the Emirates they have been disappointing this season, with just two wins from their last seven outings in front of their own fans.

It is now seven league games without defeat, but draws have damaged their hopes of salvaging anything from the season and, with a poisonous atmosphere developing amongst sections of the supporters, the pressure will be on to record a convincing victory this weekend.

Recent form: WWDDWD

Norwich

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Norwich City will know what they have to do to climb out of the relegation zone by the time they kick off at the Emirates on Saturday evening.

Sunderland currently occupy the coveted final safety spot as a result of the point they gained against the Gunners last time out, with Norwich dropping into the bottom three during a weekend off.

There is only goal difference separating the two as things stand, but with an improving Sunderland in action against a Stoke City side in poor form at 3pm on Saturday, things could change by the time Norwich get underway.

One thing is for certain - time is beginning to run out for the Canaries. Both they and Sunderland have difficult run-ins, with both sides facing Watford and Everton in their final two matches of the campaign. Norwich must first take on Arsenal and Manchester United before that, while the Black Cats face Stoke and Chelsea.

Manager Alex Neil may feel that their game off last weekend came at a good time having seen his side fall to what could prove to be a pivotal and fatal 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Sunderland in their most recent outing.

The Canaries had given themselves hope with a win at West Bromwich Albion and a dramatic last-gasp triumph over Newcastle United, but back-to-back defeats to Crystal Palace, who ended a 14-match winless Premier League run with that victory, and then Sunderland have left them in trouble once again.

It is away from home where their main problems have come too, with Norwich having lost seven of their last eight Premier League games on the road and scoring just two goals in that time.

Indeed, since their win at Sunderland in their first away game of the season, they have managed just eight points from the 48 available to them on their travels - a tally that is second to only Aston Villa in that period.

The time is approaching where Norwich must throw caution to the wind a little, although with goal difference potentially coming into play too, the Canaries cannot afford to fall to a heavy defeat this weekend either.

Recent form: LDWWLL

Team News

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Arsenal's injury woes have eased somewhat in recent weeks, but they could still be without Santi Cazorla and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain this weekend as they continue to build themselves back up to match fitness.

Jack Wilshere made his first appearance of the season last time out against Sunderland, but with only six minutes under his belt he is unlikely to be thrown in from the start against Norwich.

Wenger must also decide whether to keep faith with Olivier Giroud, whose ongoing 14-match run without a Premier League goal is his longest ever drought in the competition.

Mesut Ozil's assists have also dried up, with the German, who at one stage looked certain to break Thierry Henry's all-time record of 20 in a league season, having been stuck on 18 for the past eight games.

Neil, meanwhile, will be without Timm Klose and Andre Wisdom due to knee ligament injuries, while Alexander Tettey is also sidelined having undergone ankle surgery.

The Canaries could make changes from the side that was beaten by Sunderland last time out, with the likes of Nathan Redmond, Wes Hoolahan and Cameron Jerome all pushing for a recall.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Elneny, Ramsey, Sanchez, Ozil, Iwobi; Welbeck

Norwich possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Martin, Bennett, Bassong, Olsson; Redmond, O'Neil, Hoolahan, Brady; Naismith; Mbokani

Head To Head

Arsenal have lost just one of their last 14 league meetings with Norwich, a run which includes seven wins and six draws. In all competitions that record stretches to just one defeat in 16, while Norwich have only won this fixture twice in the Premier League era.

The Canaries have not won at Arsenal since a 4-2 victory at Highbury in 1992 when they came from two goals down in the final 21 minutes. Since then, Arsenal have gone seven home games without defeat to Norwich, winning four and drawing three.

The reverse fixture earlier this season ended all square in November as Lewis Grabban cancelled out Ozil's opener at Carrow Road to earn the hosts a 1-1 draw.

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We say: Arsenal 2-0 Norwich

Arsenal may not be in the best form coming into this match, but they still need to pick up points and this should be a good chance for them to do so. Norwich's away record has been dreadful all season, and we feel that it will be a straightforward home win for the Gunners.

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