After the devastating 3-2 loss away at Old Trafford, Arsenal welcome relegation-battling Swansea Citty to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Usually, this would look an easy three points; but with Arsenal, as we all know, it’s never easy. It’s always two steps forward, one step back; an ecstatic winner against Leicester City nullified by a feeble performance against a makeshift Manchester United side. Having said that, it would be nice to maintain the decent home form this season with what *should* be a routine victory over the Welsh side. Changes are likely to be made to the side, with the out of sorts Theo Walcott expected to be replaced by Olivier Giroud, and Arsene Wenger hoping that players such as Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez can play themselves back into form. Swansea, meanwhile, have just come off the back of an unlucky defeat at White Hart Lane as they scrap for points near the foot of the Premier League – hope, however, remains in that they lose back to back games in north London in the space of just four days.
Swansea, as struggling teams naturally do in away games, will set up defensively and look to score from set pieces or from an Arsenal mistake. This of course, presents a problem for the Gunners, who look insipid offensively and are struggling to take the opportunities when they do come (usually from Mesut Ozil).
One player Arsenal should watch out for is Gylfi Siggurdson – a set piece specialist, his play-making style has hurt Arsenal before from both free kicks and open play – while Swansea as a whole shouldn’t present too much of a threat, Francis Coquelin will need to keep track of him.
One player Swansea need to look out for is Ozil. Nominated for the second time in three weeks, it appears that he is one of the only players, bar Danny Welbeck and Petr Cech, who appeared to have some spirit at Old Trafford. Expect him to do as he does, and add to his 18 assists.
Match facts
– Arsenal have only won two of their last eight away games.
– In the last 10 matches, Arsenal have only scored in four.
– In the last sx matches, Swansea won two, drew two and then lost the last two.
– No Swansea player has provided more than two assists in the Premier League, compared to Ozil’s 18.
– Ozil’s goal at Old Trafford meant that he is now the 3rd top Arsenal scorer this season, with five goals in the Premier League.
Team news
– Joel Campbell may be set for a recall after Wenger hinted that Welbeck was not fully fit for the game. With the North London Derby looming large, the Frenchman may rotate his squad.
– Swansea may also rotate due to the six pointer with Norwich on Saturday, but otherwise, there are no new injuries.
Predicted XI
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Ramsey; Campbell, Ozil, Alexis; Giroud.
Swansea (4-3-2-1): Fabianski; Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Cork, Ki, Britton; Sigurdsson, Ayez; Paloschi.
