A little bit of history repeated

Arsenal 3 Norwich City 1

Enraged onlookers pouring vitriol upon Arsene Wenger, who bristles with indignation. Then, suddenly, a complete reversal of fortune. And all smiles at the end.

That was the story of this game; it also sums up Arsenal’s season and those of recent vintage: no trophy engravers need get involved but Tottenham fans are left depressed and deflated.

It is difficult to see any other outcome now. Tottenham went seven points clear of their north London rivals when they beat them on March 3, prompting manager Andre Villas-Boas to predict a ‘negative spiral’ for the Gunners.

But Arsenal are now third and will play two more Premier League fixtures, at home to Everton tomorrow and away at Fulham on Saturday, before Spurs even have the chance to lace up their boots in anger.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may be only 19 and clocked up 10 minutes of action against Norwich but he is more than familiar with this particular scenario, having helped the Gunners overturn a similar Spurs advantage a year ago.

“It helps to know that we did it last season and we managed to squeeze in last season for the Champions League in the way that we did,” he said. “If you look at Wigan and the way they stayed up last season then I’m sure the confidence and belief in their camp is high.

“That’s what it does for a squad. Previous experiences can help you and contribute in the way that you feel in the season afterwards. The fact we did it last season definitely helps our confidence.”

Arsenal, it can be argued, also possess greater strength in depth as Tottenham and Chelsea, who occupy fourth spot, have both seen key men succumb to injury in recent weeks while this game marked the return to Emirates action of Jack Wilshere, who started, and Theo Walcott, who came off the bench.

All three subs were instrumental in wiping out the lead Michael Turner gave Norwich in the 56th minute, the result of some appalling marking from a free-kick. Oxlade-Chamberlain set up Olivier Giroud for the second goal while Walcott, who had come on along with Lukas Podolski straight after the Canaries opener, provided the German with a Canaries coup de grace.

“At the moment, we do have that,” said Oxlade-Chamberlain of his side’s sudden abundance of resources. “Lukas came on and scored, Theo came on and did really well and I was glad that I got on and was able to contribute. That’s what it’s like being at a big club like Arsenal, you do have strength in depth with brilliant players on the bench like you do in the starting XI.”

Yet it so nearly never happened. Norwich were holding on doggedly to their lead when linesman Richard West made two highly questionable calls. The first was to signal an Arsenal corner when Robert Snodgrass appeared to make no contact; the second was to advise referee Mike Jones to award a penalty when Kei Kamara grappled with Giroud trying to defend it.

Just five minutes were remaining when Mikel Arteta converted the spot-kick and, two goals later, the final whistle signalled joy for the home fans and a sustained bout of moaning from the Canaries.

“The ref was 10 metres away from the incident, and he didn’t say anything,” complained Alex Tettey, the Norwich midfielder. “The linesman, who was far away, is saying it’s a penalty. It should not have been a corner. The third goal was offside, also.”

All fair enough but none of the above alters the fact that Norwich have now won just one of their last 16 Premier League fixtures and are consequently just four points above the drop and looking vulnerable.

Luckily, their next opponents just happen to be Reading, those bringers of joy to so many opponents this season. “Yes, next weekend is like a cup final,” Tettey confirmed. “There is no getting one point or losing in that game. We need three points — that’s a massive game.”