Daniel Farke rejects criticism Norwich City have been too ‘naive’ on their Premier League return.

The Canaries resume at Arsenal after the international period looking for their first point of the new season.

City were handed a brutal start against Liverpool, Manchester City and FA Cup winners Leicester City, but Farke intends to stick to his guns.

“If we lose a game 5-0 I don’t expect the pundits to praise us. We know there are things we can do better after the first games,” he said. “To play in the Premier League you have to handle the pressure and the criticism.

"When I hear we need to be more pragmatic or we are too naive what does that actually mean?

"Does playing more pragmatic mean we stick the ball up front and go long? It's the other way around. If we started playing long balls to Milot Rashica, to Todd Cantwell, to Teemu Pukki, and bypass Billy Gilmour, we have no chance.

"If we don’t want to play with Billy, or Todd or Max Aarons or Pukki or Rashica, if we want giants then we can play long balls.

“It is not about our style or being pragmatic, we have to improve our positioning in front of the goal, our individual behaviour.

"Maybe you can call it mistakes rather than naivety but that is not about our style of play.”

City swooped for Mathias Normann and Ozak Kabak in the closing days of the transfer window as part of a strategy to try and give them a fighting chance.

“Of course it would be easier if you went and paid £50m for a left back or two centre backs for the same figure. We have to develop our players and we have to trust our players,” said the City chief. “We want to show we can be competitive. I believe we will win points on this level. The Premier League is not a sprint, it's a marathon.

"The most important thing is where we after 38 game days, not after playing Liverpool or Manchester City, and want to be in a good shape in the best possible position. The we can discuss the outcome.

“But when we lose those type of games I am not too concerned. In the same way I wouldn’t be over the moon with two good results. Sometimes against the best in this league you need that capacity to suffer. These are some of the best sides in the world.”

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