Arteta and Arsenal’s redemption mission starts as Gunners record narrow win over Norwich City

It’s been a difficult start to the season for Arsenal, who lost each of their opening three Premier League matches to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City.

However, the Gunners were afforded some breathing space thanks to the international break and it appears they made very good use of the period.

Returning to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, Mikel Arteta was fortunate to have a full house. And for the first time this season, the Spaniard had the opportunity to field a full-strength team.

Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel and Kieran Tierney started, while Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka were the front four.

And it was no surprise that Arsenal finally managed to get their first league win of the season against Norwich City.

Up and running! 🤩#ARSNOR

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 11, 2021

Aubameyang powers Arsenal past Norwich

Even with all these players starting the game, Arsenal still struggled a bit against the Canaries. Their attack was fluent enough while there was no real coordination in their build-up.

It wasn't until Thomas Partey came on that the Gunners gained a foothold in the game. The Ghanaian brought composure to Arsenal’s play and was the catalyst for the only goal of the match.

In the end, it was Aubameyang who netted the Gunners’ first league of the season following a goal-mouth scramble in the Norwich box.

It was a scrappy win at best, but Arsenal won’t care at all after the disastrous start to the season they’ve had. They desperately needed to win and they did just that.

🗣 "I just saw a crowd that wanted to inspire the team... it was a very special reaction. Thank you very much." - Mikel Arteta#ARSNOR

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 12, 2021

Pressure eases on Arteta

No manager has been under more pressure than Arteta but the Spaniard can now relax a bit following Arsenal’s first league win of the season.

And with a fully-fit squad now at his disposal, the Gunners boss would hope to lead the team on a consistent run from here.

"We are really happy. We knew it was a really tricky game and we got what we wanted, which was to win the match and to get points on the table,” Arteta said after the game, as quoted by Euro Sport.

“We had to suffer but I knew to win the game it would be like this. After three defeats things get complicated," he said.

"I must say it has been the best 10 or 14 days in my professional career. Not the easiest, but the best. You learn a lot in difficult moments, who you are with,” concluded the Arsenal boss.

Indeed, it was a great day for all Arsenal fans and now the club can kick on with their journey to redemption after a poor start to the season.