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Former Arsenal winger Perry Groves has praised manager Mikel Arteta's proactive substitutions to help the Gunners secure their first win of the new Premier League season.
Speaking to TalkSPORT (via Football London), Perry Groves credited Mikel Arteta for understanding the need to have as many attackers as possible to get Arsenal over the line against Norwich City. Groves said:
"I'll give Arteta a little bit of credit. He needed to make substitutions and he brought on [Thomas] Partey and [Emile] Smith Rowe but he left on [Martin] Odegaard. He took off [Albert Sambi] Lokonga. He wanted as many attacking players on as possible."
"So hats off to Arteta."
Mikel Arteta was under immense pressure to secure Arsenal's first points of the Premier League campaign. The pressure eased a little when club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted in the 66th minute to give the Gunners an important 1-0 win over Norwich City.
Thomas Partey was an important substitution as his pass unlocked Norwich City's defense to help Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang score following Nicolas Pepe's initial two shots which hit the post.
It wasn't Arsenal's most convincing performance. However, the Gunners have finally kick started their season and will be hoping to go from strength to strength.
Arsenal are finally off and running under Mikel Arteta
It took them four game-weeks but Arsenal have finally secured their first points of the new campaign following their win against Norwich City. Prior to their win against the Canaries, Mikel Arteta's men had lost all of their opening three games without scoring a goal for themselves.
Arsenal lost to newly-promoted Brentford on the opening day of the new season before suffering convincing defeats at the hands of Chelsea and Manchester City. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's goal was Arsenal's first league goal this season.
The win against an equally struggling Norwich City took Arsenal from 20th on the table to 16th. Mikel Arteta's men will next face a tricky away game against Burnley at Turf Moor before facing rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby.
After a disappointing last season where Arsenal finished in a lowly 8th place, Mikel Arteta was backed in the transfer window this summer. Arsenal spent close to £140 million to sign the likes of Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale.
Also Read: David James' column - Ranking the 5 best managers in world football at the moment
