Arsenal missed the chance to draw level on points with Manchester City at the top of the table after Lewis Grabban’s equaliser earned a point for Norwich. The Gunners were gifted the lead when John Ruddy’s poor clearance allowed Alexis Sanchez to set up Mesut Ozil. But the visitors were pegged back by Grabban, who received Robbie Brady’s defence-splitting pass and held off the challenge of Gabriel to fire in. Injuries to Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez deepened Arsenal’s woes.

Centre-back Koscielny was forced off in the first half with a hip injury, while forward Sanchez hobbled off after the interval with an apparent hamstring problem. The Gunners are now two points off the lead in fourth and manager Arsene Wenger may come under renewed pressure to bolster his squad in January to sustain their title challenge. Norwich, meanwhile, remain 16th but will be buoyed by a display full of heart and determination. An evening that could ultimately prove damaging to their title aspirations started well for Arsenal as Ruddy’s error gave them a deserved lead. Before the match, the England goalkeeper had addressed criticism of some recent indifferent performances, saying: “I don’t think I have been as good [this season] as I have been previously, but form is temporary.” But his hopes of earning Norwich just a second clean sheet in 14 matches were dashed as he scuffed a clearance to Gary O’Neil.

Sanchez nipped in to dispossess the Norwich captain and threaded a through-ball to Ozil, who clipped a deft first-time finish over the goalkeeper. The Germany midfielder has now had a hand in 13 goals in his last 12 league games, with 11 assists and two efforts of his own. But his well-taken goal was just one facet of a hugely impressive performance, in which he misplaced only one of his 68 passes despite making 57 of them in the Norwich half. And the 27-year-old could be an increasingly important figure in the coming weeks following the injuries to Koscielny and Sanchez. Arsenal face a must-win Champions League encounter against Olympiakos on 9 December and Wenger will be counting on Ozil to shoulder extra responsibility in midfield if Sanchez is ruled out. Defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin is expected to be out for three months after suffering ligament damage, while Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck are also sidelined.

So Alexis, Kos and Coq out injured! In any decently run club there would an investigation to the injury crisis. But the board at Arsenal do not give a fuck. They don’t want to challenge for the league. Fuck them and fuck Wenger. If we don’t buy in January kiss goodbye to the challenge of a league title.