Arsenal vs. Norwich City Odds
Arsenal Odds | -220 |
Norwich City Odds | +550 |
Draw | +390 |
Over/Under | 2.5 (-145 / +120) |
Day | Time | Saturday | 10 a.m. ET |
How To Watch | Peacock Premium |
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There are three teams that have gone winless in the first three Premier League matchdays this season, and two will meet Saturday when Arsenal welcomes Norwich City to North London.
Plenty of people will have expected the Canaries to be in this position, but the torrid start from the Gunners has caught most by surprise. To the defense of both teams, neither were given any favors with the early fixtures as both have suffered through defeats to Man City and a Champions League foe through three matches.
Do we have an early relegation six-pointer on our hands? All jokes aside both clubs will be looking to get something from this game to get their seasons headed in the right direction.
Is Disappointing Arsenal Really This Bad?
Arsenal made a big splash in the summer transfer market, spending the most of any side in the Premier League this summer at over $200 million. Mikel Arteta’s revamped roster has not had the time needed to gel early in the season, but the international break may have given the Gunners the opportunity to do so.
With only one combined start between the two, the absences of key strikers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette have caused the Gunners to post the second-lowest xG per game average in the league at 0.67 (per fbref.com), and Arsenal joins Wolves as the only two teams who have yet to score a goal this campaign.
To make matters worse, key midfielder Granit Xhaka was sent off in their last match so he misses out on Saturday.
Arsenal did bolster the backline over the summer with the signings of center back Ben White from Brighton and defenders Takehiro Tomiyas (Bologna) and Nuno Tavares (Benfica).
Arteta also has new options in midfield with Albert Sambi Lokonga (Anderlecht) and the permanent signing of Martin Ødegaard from Real Madrid, while possibly seeing the return of defensive midfielder Thomas Partey from injury for his first league action this season.
Norwich City Delivering Similar Results in Return
It has been a lot of the same for Norwich in their return to the first division with three consecutive defeats to open the campaign. However, the Canaries did have a better showing last time out in the 2-1 loss to Leicester City, with Norwich finishing with a +0.3 xG difference in the match.
Manager Daniel Farke will be happy to see striker Teemu Pukki back in the goals with his first of the season against Leicester, but his side has also struggled to create chances just like Arsenal.
Norwich comes into this match with a 1.04 xG per game average, which ranks in the bottom five in the league and only has the lone goal from Pukki through three games.
Norwich did add a familiar face over the summer with American striker Josh Sargent coming over from Germany, but he is unlikely to feature this weekend due to playing for the United States on Thursday.
Betting Analysis & Pick
Have we finally reached the buy point with Arsenal? I can’t quite get there with a moneyline price north of -200 or having to lay either -1 or -1.5 in the Asian markets, but I do see value in the props market. I’ll be playing the No on Both Teams To Score at -105 money for this match.
I highlighted the attacking issues for both squads coming into the match, and I feel that Arteta has spent the entire break shoring of the defense with most of his new defensive signings staying in London. When you throw in the fact that Norwich scored a total of seven away goals in their last Premier League campaign, I really don’t see many goals in this match.
The Arsenal Win to Nil bet (+160) could be good value as well, but I want to see the Gunners score a goal first before I back them with any sort of victory.
Pick: Both Teams to Score — No (-105)