The Norwich City right-back has explained how the atmosphere at the Emirates was palpable during their clash with the Gunners after Arsenal’s disastrous start to the Premier League season
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Arteta praises fans after Arsenal win
Norwich City star Max Aarons has revealed how he could feel the tension in the air at the Emirates during the Canaries recent visit to north London to take on Arsenal.
It has been a nightmare start to the Premier League campaign for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, losing three of their opening four games in what was their worst start to a season in 118 years.
Arsenal suffered three successive defeats at the hands of newly-promoted Brentford, Chelsea and reigning league champions Manchester City respectively, a run that saw them score zero goals, concede nine and leave them rock bottom of the table.
However, the Gunners have somewhat halted the rut with the recent 1-0 victory over Aarons’ Norwich side, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring the only goal of the game mid-way through the second half.
Aarons, who has been often linked with a move to the Emirates, explained how he could sense the nerves among the Arsenal squad last Saturday.
“You could tell Arsenal were under a bit of pressure,” he told Rio Ferdinand’s ‘ Vibe with Five ’ YouTube channel.
“You could feel in the game that the fans were a bit tense and the players were a bit tense. You could feel it in the stadium.”
He went on to claim how he felt his side could have come away from north London with more, revealing: “As Norwich we felt that we could have got something out of the game, and it was frustrating not to to be honest.
“I think Arsenal deserved it in the end, but I am disappointed still coming away from it.”
Aarons’ comments are not the first time a member of a newly-promoted squad has questioned Arsenal’s credentials, Brentford’s Ivan Toney made similar comments just weeks after his side comfortably beat Arsenal 2-0 on the opening night of the new season.
Toney explained on Baller Talk : “Arsenal fans are going to batter me for this, but you see Arsenal at the moment and they’re not the best.
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“There was a difference (between the Championship and the Premier League), don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t crazy like: if you make a mistake, it’s going to end up in the back of the goal.
“I didn’t really see that. They were good at keeping the ball, but it didn’t really affect us.
“They weren’t as crazy as I thought (they would be). I don’t know if it was (whether) they weren’t so good or we were just excited as it was our first game and it was Arsenal and Premier League (and) all these things coming into the picture.
“I just didn’t see them how they used to be. You used to look at Arsenal and think (they were) crazy and they were going to win this game, win this game. These days, I don’t see them winning nothing any time soon.”
