Arsenal Wenger was pleased with the resilience his team showed to survive first half Swansea pressure and come through comfortable 3-0 winners at the Liberty Stadium.
The Gunners’ second-half performance was in complete contrast to the first where the Gunners did not hit their straps in the attacking department.
However, Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Joel Campbell – on his first Premier League start – all scored after the break to cap an important afternoon in south Wales.
After the win, Wenger spoke about the significance of not conceding when not at their best in the first half.
We had a difficult first half but we came through it.
I rested eight players on Wednesday and gave them a little breather this week, and it took us a little while to get into the tempo of the game. I am pleased because we could keep a clean sheet during the difficult moments of the game and you are never in a hurry to take too many risks going forward.
Once we scored the first goal it was a completely different game.
Swansea have proved a bogey team over the years and Garry Monk was yet to lose to Wenger in three meetings, so it was a big test of the Gunners’ progression.
But most important was keeping up with Manchester City at the top of the table.
It is always a difficult game. We were a bit edgy [in the first half] but in fairness Swansea showed quality again today.
They are maybe going through a spell where they have less confidence but they are a good side. In the first half, it was difficult but in the second half we upped our purpose, our tempo and had more purpose in our passing, with pace in our combinations.
Once we scored the first goal we were the dominant team and won the game normally.
Arsenal’s second goal came via a Lukasz Fabianksi mistake. The Swans wanted a free-kick but Wenger didn’t agree.
I didn’t see a foul, honestly. Maybe I missed something and I have to watch it again. There are always a diverse set of opinions from managers on that. It didn’t look obvious to me from outside.
Giroud’s opener was a historic one, being the 2,000th scored in the Wenger era, but the Frenchman was more focussed on the result.
Yes, the three points are more important. I am proud of scoring goals because people like to come to see football to see people try to play, but the most important of course was the three points.
Next up is a trip to Bayern Munich for a tough Champions League clash and then a crunch game against Tottenham Hotspur in the north London Derby.
