Premier League: Norwich City 1 Arsenal 0

Norwich picked up their first Premier League win of the season with an upset 1-0 win over Arsenal at Carrow Road on Saturday.

The visitors had more possession throughout, but the hosts opened the scoring through Grant Holt in the first half after Vito Mannone spilled a long-range shot.

The Canaries were forced to hold on for periods of the match, but a solid defensive performance saw them hard to break down, with Arsenal creating few clear-cut chances.

Norwich came out of the blocks in a determined manner, with Anthony Pilkington going close early on, but the Gunners soon took control of possession, making the match look like a training session at times.

Norwich’s steely rearguard action was providing an excellent launch pad, and they were soon in the lead – with the help of Arsenal goalkeeper Mannone.

Bradley Johnson cut the ball back to Alexander Tettey about 25 yards out, and the Norwegian, who built up a reputation for his long-range shooting at Rennes in France, tried his luck, only for his effort to be spilled by Mannone where Holt buried the rebound.

The goal saw Norwich showing significantly more on the ball, and although Arsenal generally continued to edge the possession, it was the hosts who went close next, but Michael Turner, who was booed before kick-off, headed a great chance wide after Wes Hoolahan’s corner.

After the break the match followed a similar pattern, with Norwich doing most of the running while Arsenal stroked the ball around with little end product.

Olivier Giroud was presented with an opportunity to get a shot in when John Ruddy punched Carl Jenkinson’s cross near him, but his effort bobbled harmlessly wide as Arsenal pressed hard for an equaliser.

With 20 minutes to go, Thomas Vermaelen presented Norwich with an excellent chance to secure the win after slipping on the halfway line, but Holt’s attempted chip went straight into the hands of Mannone.

Arsenal piled the pressure on in the final 10 minutes, but they still could not break down the Norwich defence that held strong, with Leon Barnett’s last-ditch block on Gervinho securing the win.