Arsenal have had a great start to the season so far, showing qualities in their side which hadn't existed for a long time. However, despite the encouraging start, the Gunners lie seven points behind leaders Chelsea, and could possibly see that lead at ten, before they take on Norwich City in Saturday's late English Premier League kickoff.
Chelsea face Spurs in the early game on Saturday, and if the Blues win, the lead will jump to double digits; so keeping all that in mind, nothing short of three points will do for the Gunners at Carrow Road.
There haven't been too many faults for the Gunners this season, apart from giving away two soft goals in their only defeat of the campaign against Chelsea. The defense is looking as solid as it has ever been, and Per Mertesacker and Thomas Vermaelen are again expected to man the backline along with Carl Jenkinson and Andre Santos, who should replace the injured Kieran Gibbs.
With Abou Diaby still a couple of weeks away from coming back, Aaron Ramsey should partner Mikel Arteta in midfield, while Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla are definite starters. The only question will be whether Olivier Giroud, who scored his first league goal in the 3-1 win over West Ham, will get the nod at center forward, or if Gervinho will take his place, allowing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to slot-in at right midfield. Since it is an away fixture, Wenger will most likely play Giroud, with Gervinho on the right.
Theo Walcott is still a week away from recovering from the injury he picked up while playing for England against San Marino in their World Cup Qualifier at Wembley, so the forgotten man Andrey Arshavin might be in line for a substitute appearance.
Wenger, who would have breathed a huge sigh of relief at not losing a player to a major injury during the international week, will know he doesn't need to make any drastic changes, and will ask his players to keep their concentration levels at 100 percent, because a slip-up now, could prove too costly when it comes to chasing the title, even at this relatively early stage.
However, goalkeeper Lukas Fabianski has been ruled out for a few more weeks after picking up an injury while training, meaning Mannone will continue at goal for Arsenal, with Wojciech Szczesny still a few weeks away from a return.
Norwich manager Chris Hughton will be hoping for a better performance from his players, after a disappointing showing against Chelsea a fortnight ago. Norwich have been a little unlucky at times, playing well in most games, but a lack of quality up front - they have just scored five goals all season - have left them down at times.
"You have to prepare them the best you can," Hughton said of the upcoming game. "We know that we're up against a wonderful team in Arsenal that have started very well. They've added to an already very good squad that they've got this summer.
"It's a great opportunity for us. We're playing at home in front of a packed crowd and in what will be a great atmosphere.
"We need to make sure that we stay in the game and are also a threat. It's a home game for us and these are the type of games you need to look forward to, and I know my players are.
"We have to get back to where we were two games ago performance-wise. If we look at our season so far we've had seven games -- three of those have been disappointing where we've conceded goals, but we've also had four very good performances.
"What we haven't done well enough is get the points we needed in the games we've played well in."
Norwich have no new injury worries, with Steven Whittaker edging closer to full match fitness.
"Whittaker is back to fitness," Hughton said. "He's had two weeks of training, and he will be involved in the Under-21s development squad game against Reading on Monday night.
"He's a fit lad but in regards to availability he's lacking match practice at the moment.
"Robert Snodgrass came back from international duty and trained for the first time today and got through the session, so we'll have to see how he is on Friday morning."
Expected lineups: Norwich: Ruddy, Martin, Bennett, Turner, Garrido, Howson, Johnson, Surman, Snodgrass, Hoolahan, Holt.
Arsenal: Mannone, Santos, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Jenkinson, Arteta, Ramsey, Cazorla, Podolski, Gervinho, Giroud.
Prediction: 3-0 to Arsenal
