Norwich vs Arsenal LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction today
Follow all the reaction live from Carrow Road
Follow all the reaction after Arsenal continued their good form and strengthened their grip on fourth-place in the Premier League thanks to a commanding 5-0 win over Norwich.
Bukayo Saka set Arsenal on their way to a fourth consecutive Premier League win when he finished off a flowing move inside six minutes, cutting onto his left foot after receiving Martin Odegaard's pass and steering a shot past goalkeeper Angus Gunn.
Mikel Arteta’s side continued to dominate but it took until the stroke of half time for them to double their lead. Odegaard was again the supplier as he played in Kieran Tierney on the left, with the full-back producing a composed finish on the run to send a shot crashing in off the inside of the post.
Arsenal continued to control the match following the break, with Saka adding his second as he beat Brandon Williams and fired past Gunn from outside the box. Alexandre Lacazette scored Arsenal’s fourth from the penalty spot and Emile Smith Rowe came off the bench to add a late fifth, piling further misery on Norwich and manager Dean Smith as they remained bottom of the Premier League.
Follow all the latest updates and reaction below:
Norwich vs Arsenal: Team news
Norwich have a host of problems with Grant Hanley, Milot Rashica, Christoph Zimmermann, Mathias Normann and Andrew Omobamidele ruled out due to injury. Ozan Kabak is a doubt while Christos Tzolis, Lukas Rupp, Pierre Lees-Melou and Josh Sargent are all short of match fitness after contracting Covid.
For Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang won’t feature after being sidelined by Arteta, while Sead Kolasinac is ruled out. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is unlikely to play as talks continue over a January exit while Albert Sambi Lokonga, Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers are absent due to Covid.
Norwich host Arsenal on Boxing Day
Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage as Norwich host Arsenal in the Premier League.
Dean Smith is still contending with several absences after a serious outbreak of Covid within his squad that caused the Canaries’ fixture against West Ham to be postponed last weekend. Norwich will now play twice in the space of 48 hours, starting with Arsenal this afternoon, with Smith condemning the schedule as “lunacy”.
Meanwhile, Arsenal arrive at Carrow Road in fine form, having won three league games in succession to move back inside the top four while a midweek thrashing of Sunderland in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals only increased the positive sense of momentum at the club.
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