Arsenal 1-0 Norwich
by Layth Yousif
at Ashburton Grove

YOU COULD tell it was going to be a special day when walking the Tollington pub before kick-off.

The renowned pre-match haunt for loyal Arsenal supporters on the Hornsey Road was packed out, with Gooners in good voice, after watching their bitter rivals Spurs trounced by Crystal Palace led by a Gunners legend.

“Vieira” they chanted loudly, to the delight of everyone. It was also instructive to see the pub full of loyal supporters inside and outside.

For it was wonderful to note this popular north London boozer and its thirsty punters had emerged from the debilitating effects of long lockdown – and rapacious landlords – in defiant fettle, boosted by Arsenal’s splendid new community initiative in which they have been reaching out to businesses in the vicinity of Ashburton Grove.

It was a day to savour renewal. As you walked to the ground, past the Gooner Fanzine salesman – another group that refused to die during Covid – the talk was of the club’s poor start to the season.

But loyal fans came to support their team, and by extension their beleaguered manager Mikel Arteta, not to bury them.

And so they did. On a wonderfully sunny September afternoon, the Gunners finally found a semblance of form to pick up their first victory of a troubled season by lifting the pressure on Arteta.

Their 1-0 victory over Daniel Farke’s Norwich City might not live in the memory long for many neutrals, or indeed home fans, but the 1-0 win over the Canaries secured their first points of the Premier League campaign a full month after the competition commenced.

Arteta had been under growing scrutiny after a dreadful start which included abject humiliations at the hands of top flight new boys Brentford as well as current champions Manchester City, in a performance as poor as anyone could remember, to leave them with three defeats out of three that left the Gunners at the foot of the table – so no wonder the longed-for triumph was lapped by fans.

The only goal of the game came when Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored in the 66th minute from close range after Canaries’ keeper Tim Krul turned Nicolas Pepe’s shot on to the post before the latter struck the woodwork again.

There were a few anxious moments as referee Michael Oliver conducted a VAR check for offside before allowing the goal to stand that saw the capacity crowd erupt with joy.

The unbridled celebrations in front of the biggest crowd at Ashburton Grove since March 2020 and the start of this infernal pandemic were with a mixture of joy and relief, but were testament to the bond between supporters and the players.

No wonder boss Arteta said afterwards: “After three defeats things get complicated.

“You learn a lot in difficult moments, who you are with. In difficult moments when you see the people and the level of organisation and the fans we have.

“They were ready to suffer today but they just give, give, give to the team.

“You have to win football matches but it is a joy to watch how everyone was behaving around the context that we had around.

“I got pretty emotional to see that.”

He also paid tribute to the fans, whose vociferous and loyal, unstinting support underlined what all true supporters are about, not the grotesque internet caricatures and frauds that others outside the club tend to focus on.  

And why not, on an afternoon when there was so much positivity with encouraging performances everywhere you looked.

This included new goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale marking his league debut with a clean sheet – his second in two games after being shotstopper during the 6-0 rout over West Brom at the Hawthorns after the Gunners’ only previous victory this season in the second round of the League Cup last month. Not to mention the sight of key midfield man Thomas Partey coming on as substitute.

It was also good to note the impressive pairing of Gabriel and new £50 million signing Ben White in the heart of defence, bolstered by the increasingly influential Kieran Tierney on the left and new boy Takehiro Tomiyashu who impressed on the right.

The £18m signing from Bologna before the transfer deadline nearly brought the house down with a spectacular volley that flew narrowly over Krul’s bar before the interval.

As it was, he certainly deserved his ovation when being replaced as the clock ticked down on a heartening afternoon. And at the end, when referee Oliver had blown the final whistle, the crowd chorused support for all their heroes, including the immortal Vieira.

Who knows, if Arsenal can continue this new-found form in the coming games against Burnley, AFC Wimbledon in the League Cup before the north London derby at home to Tottenham later this month, fans may even be singing Arteta’s name once again, in the manner of the hearty way they sung Vieria’s name long and loudly in the Tollington after the game.