Norwich City manager Alex Neil has admitted that the tactics adopted by some opponents this season have surprised him.

Despite coming up from the Championship via the playoffs, Neil claims that a number of sides are keen to frustrate the Canaries by operating on the counter-attack.

Norwich host Arsenal at Carrow Road on Sunday in a game which is likely to see the Gunners look to take control for long spells.

"We will be regarded as one of the smaller teams in the league, but even when so-called bigger teams come to our place, they have been happy to sit behind the ball, soak up pressure and hit you on the counter-attack - and that sort of surprised me," Neil told reporters.

"You would have thought that some of them would have come here and tried to impose themselves, go toe-to-toe, but that has not been the case."

Norwich sit just three points outside of the relegation zone.