SO maybe it wasn’t all Unai Emery’s fault after all.
Maybe it is the players who are to blame for Arsenal’s worst-ever start to a Premier League season.
Freddie Ljungberg endured a frustrating first game as Arsenal’s caretaker bossCredit: AFP or licensors
And if the club were hoping that a change of manager was going to produce an instant fix for all their problems, they had better think again.
Because there might be a new face in the dugout but out on the pitch it is the same old story from a team who have simply forgotten how to defend.
Interim boss Freddie Ljungberg had promised to bring a smile back to Arsenal after replacing the hapless Emery on Friday.
But no one was laughing after they clung on for a fortunate point against relegation-threatened Norwich — and former Invincible Ljungberg certainly has his work cut out if he wants the job on a permanent basis.
For a man who has been afflicted by crippling attacks of migraine throughout his career, sorting this lot out is probably a headache he could do without.
In the end he was happy to settle for a draw which keeps the Gunners as close to the relegation zone as they are to the top four.
And they were only able to claim that solitary point thanks to a twice-taken penalty which left the Canaries fuming at the continuing unpredictability of VAR.
It is now eight games since Arsenal won and ten since their last clean sheet, during which time they have conceded 20 goals.
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And it would have been much worse but for the brilliance of their German international keeper Bernd Leno.
He was required to make a series of exceptional second-half saves to keep Norwich at bay.
Owner’s son Josh Kroenke had flown in from America to deliver a training-ground pep talk to Arsenal’s under-performing squad after sacking Emery on Friday.
But his claim that it is not too late to get back into the scramble for Champions League qualification appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
These Gunners players are performing with such little conviction, it really is difficult to see just how they can salvage this car-crash of a season.
Desperate times call for desperate measures — and they don’t come much more audacious than a back four of Calum Chambers, Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz and Sead Kolasinac.
FEARLESS FREDDIE
It was certainly an ‘interesting’ opening call by Ljungberg, who threw caution to the wind with his first team selection and boldly went for broke.
That spirit of adventure was there for all to see in the opening 20 minutes, when Mustafi’s header was cleared off the line by Onel Hernandez and Chambers was denied by Tim Krul’s flying save.
Yet while they might be reinvigorated by the manager’s boldness going forward, Arsenal continue to show the resilience of a chocolate teapot when they are not in possession.
When midfielder Joe Willock was muscled off the ball by Kenny McLean on the edge of the Norwich penalty area, it only needed two passes before Teemu Pukki found himself in on goal to beat Leno with a 21st-minute deflection off Mustafi.
The Finnish international striker had not scored in his previous eight games — but then again he had not played against Arsenal’s defence in that time.
Arsenal struggled to contain Teemu Pukki and Norwich in first game since Emery sackingCredit: Reuters
Freddie Ljungberg with Per Mertesacker while taking charge of his first Premier League gameCredit: Getty – Contributor
But at least the North Londoners still have a bit of fighting spirit about them.
Three minutes after falling behind, they were awarded a contentious penalty when centre-back Christoph Zimmermann handled Mesut Ozil’s free-kick under pressure from Luiz.
Krul — who twice saved from the spot against Manchester United earlier this season — dived to his right to push out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s tame effort.
But VAR official Michael Oliver spotted that Max Aarons was one of four Norwich players encroaching before he cleared the ball.
And Aubameyang made no mistake with the retake.
Yet still Arsenal were unable to take advantage of that lifeline and fell behind again in first-half stoppage time.
Once again they were caught out in transition when the dangerous Hernandez got into the channel behind Chambers.
GUN-SHY GUNNERS
The Cuban winger had enough time to weigh up all his options before rolling the ball into the path of Todd Cantwell for a precise low shot into the far corner.
Whatever Ljungberg said during the half-time interval had the desired effect.
Within 12 minutes of the restart, his team were back on level terms when Norwich were unable to clear Ozil’s corner.
Aubameyang forced home from close range despite a second ball being thrown on to the pitch a split second before he struck.
Yet Arsenal’s confidence is so eggshell fragile these days that even with more than half an hour to seize the initiative, they never looked likely to go on to end their winning run.
Instead it was Norwich who finished the stronger, with Leno saving from Pukki, Cantwell and McLean twice to preserve a point.
With five of the clubs above them in the table all dropping points, this was a real opportunity missed for Arsenal to launch their league fightback.
A home game against Brighton and away fixture at West Ham will provide more insight into Ljungberg’s style.
And the club are adamant that the Swede will be given every opportunity to get his message across.
With Emery no longer dishing out the instructions, at least the players are no longer required to crack the Enigma code to understand what is being demanded of them.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
