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Swansea City vs Arsenal
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 16/03/13
15:00pm K.O.
The Liberty Stadium
Referee: Jon Moss
The Match
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| Michu and co celebrate at the Emirates Stadium |
Arsenal travel to South Wales in desparate need of a win. This will be their third away game in a row (after three home games on the trot) and a loss could see them fall eight points behind of Spurs & Chelsea in the race for a Champions League spot, so they'll be fired up this one. Having departed from the Champions League in Munich on Wednesday, they've now only the Premier League to focus on and they'll no doubt be hoping this match will be a turning point as they look to close the gap on their London rivals.
Prior Form
Premier League West Brom 2-1 Swansea
Premier League Swansea 1-0 NewcastleLeague Cup Final Bradford 0-5 Swansea
Premier League Liverpool 5-0 Swansea
Premier League Swansea 4-1 QPR
Champions League Bayern 0-2 Arsenal (Bayern go through on away goals)
Premier League Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal
Premier League Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa
Premier League Arsenal 1-3 Bayern
FA Cup Arsenal 0-1 Blackburn
Odds: Swansea 12-5, Draw 11-5, Arsenal 23-20
Team News
| Leon Britton faces a late fitness test |
Swansea will give a late fitness test to Leon Britton after he missed the West Brom game with a hip injury, while Chico Flores remains out. Neil Taylor started for the u-21 side but is still some way off a first team return, and Luke Moore has been carrying a calf injury picked up at the Hawthorns but should be fit for inclusion, and after scoring in his last two games he'll want to be able to throw his name into the hat.
Arsenal will be without Lukas Podolski & Bacary Sagna after Wenger confirmed they wouldn't be available in time for their trip over the Severn Bridge. Jack Wilshire, too, remains out, and only Monreal will return after being ineligible to play in the Munich game on Wednesday. Keiran Gibbs, too, looks likely to miss out as Wenger stated he'd aggravated a thigh injury in the 2-0 win.
Trivia - "Courtesy" of Opta, the BBC and various other sites;
- Swansea are unbeaten in 5 league matches at home, winning the last three, while Arsenal have lost 2 of their last 3 league away matches.
- This will be the fourth match between Arsenal and Swansea this season, with the record currently standing at W1 D1 L1.
- Six of the seven goals in matches between Arsenal and Swansea this season have come in the last 10 minutes.
- Of Swansea's four goals against Arsenal this year, Michu has bagged three of them.
- Swansea have conceded a higher proportion of goals from set pieces than any other team in the PL this season - remarkably half of all the goals they have conceded. .
- A Swansea win will be the first time the Swans have won four home games in a row in the Premier League.
- Arsenal have the highest average possession in the Premier League this season - 58.5%. Swansea are sixth, with 55.6%).
- Ki-Seung Young has had more shots without scoring than any other Premier League player this season (36).
- Since New Year, Swansea have picked up 12 points, and Arsenal 14. Worryingly, QPR have picked up 13.
- Ashley Williams has made 40 blocks this season, the most in the league, and only 26 fewer than Arsenal have in total.
- Swansea have conceded six goals from indirect free-kicks - more than any other side.
Completely guessed lineups
Swansea City
Vorm
Rangel Monk (C) Williams Davies
Britton Ki S-Y
Lamah De Guzman Routledge
Britton Ki S-Y
Lamah De Guzman Routledge
Michu
Giroud
Cazorla Rosicky Walcott
Ramsey Arteta
Monreal Mertesacker Vermaelen(C) Jenkinson
Szczesny
Arsenal
Straight from the "horse's mouth";
Arsene Wenger: "We have to keep the positives and be inspired for the rest of the season by this positive result and for us, every game is a cup final now. We were not happy [after Bayern], but we felt we did our job by winning the game. We are more frustrated because we are out of the competition, but we have to keep the positives and be inspired for the rest of the season by this positive result.
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| Wenger has to figure out a way to close the gap on their London rivals. |
"We need to increase the belief of the team and that will produce more consistency. Ten games is a long way to go and it is down to consistency. I think the away games will have a final part in our final position of the season. Tomorrow is a big away game so it is important we prepare well for it.
"He [Michael Laudrup] is a contender (for Manager of the Year) because his team has played well, they have been remarkably consistent and plays good football. It was a difficult act to follow Brendan Rodgers, who was successful there.
"There was a big question mark about him when he arrived because Swansea did well last season. They have continued their progress and he has brought some good players in as well. They play good football. First of all he has a big experience as a manager in Spain and he has experience of international level because he played in many countries. The other advantage he had was he knew Spanish players because he worked there."
Michael Laudrup: "They came out of the [Bayern Munich] game better than when they went into it. They have won away against a very good side but they are still five points away from fourth place. They will try and maintain the confidence from Wednesday night, but Saturday is a very important game for them with only eight games left after this weekend.”
“They have some top quality players - Jack Wilshere and Cazorla are the two main players in their team, but with Wilshere not playing he will be the one to watch. I’ve always said that if you can stop the players who give the ball to the forwards and create the chances, then you’ve always got a chance, but we have had some good games against them this season, and I hope Saturday will be the same.”
“He (Wenger) has been there 17 years now, and what he has achieved there is great. But if the fans want trophies then eight years is of course a long time. He has been there for so long because people have been pleased with what he has done, and I think we will still see Arsene Wenger on the Arsenal bench next season.”
Analysis
Both sides will be looking at this match as one from which then can recover maximum points. Arsenal, as mentioned, need a win to guarantee they don't fall further behind Chelsea and Spurs in the race for a Champions League spot, while Swansea are looking to improve upon last season's points tally as they hope to push further up the table into previously uncharted territory, with European football already secured for the coming year.
Swansea will look to build on recent good form at home, though the number of goals conceded at the Liberty this season needs to be addressed. With Chico Flores out, it's likely Monk will have to deal with the nimble-footed Arsenal attack and his positioning will have to be spot on throughout the game if the Swans are to keep a clean sheet. Last time out at the Liberty Walcott was well marshalled and Ben Davies will no doubt be charged with, essentially, stopping Walcott getting anywhere near Monk - such will be the mismatch in pace. Wilshire being out is a real bonus for the Swans, as the FA Cup replay where the Swans went down 1-0 was, from memory, all about the Arsenal youth product. The midfielder is a class above anything else Arsenal have in my opinion, and the Swans midfield should be able to retain possession more effectively without having to worry about him tearing around in pursuit of the ball.
Arsenal's problem, or so it's been claimed this season, is that they play with an arrogance their results don't back up. Now, I think that's harsh as to be a top footballing team you need a certain arrogance, however there have been occasions where I've watched Arsenal play and come away thinking that the players didn't really work as hard as I'd expect from a team at the top end of the Premier League, and the loss of Wilshire will only exacerbate that. It's possibly Wenger will go with Diaby in place of Rosicky as he looks to hassle and harangue the Swansea midfield, and if he does I'd say that Arsenal would stand more of a chance of coming away with points.
Swansea's attacking players will no doubt fancy their chances against Carl Jenkinson and Nacho Monreal, who, while they've both been impressive, aren't names that will instill fear in any of the Swansea boys. I don't think we'll see Laudrup go with the "three winger" formation however, so it's likely to be a straight match up between whoever starts out wide and the Arsenal fullbacks. Jenkinson in particular has been impressive this season, and actually exited the Champions League with a 100% tackle completion rate - that truly is remarkable.
Up top Michu will look to carry on his good form against the Gunners, and will be looking to add to the three goals he's already bagged against them this season. His ambling style has seemed to frustrate the Arsenal defenders this year and they've struggled to pick him up as he drops deep before drifting forward. It'll be important for whoever is picked out wide for the Swans to get close to Michu and run off him, so that he's not plowing a lone furrow. Vermaelen and Mertesacker are both impressive defenders but, more importantly, both of them are massive and Michu is unlikely to get any joy in the air all afternoon. Swansea's wingers need to get close to the Spaniard before running off him at speed, creating half a yard for the former Oviedo man, which, let's be honest, is all he's needed this season.
Iechyd Da.