View from a Gunner
The fifth installment in a series which will see a fan of every PL club give their opinion on our mighty club, today's effort comes from Arsenal fan Dan Fitzpatrick, with whom I feature on the EPL RoundTable podcast.
Q1. Who are you and what do you do? How did you become attached to your club?
I'm Dan Fitzpatrick. I write for EPLIndex.com and do podcasts on the EPL Round table. Since I have lived in the United States for my entire life, I don't have the classic "I was born five minutes from the stadium and fell in love" story lots of British fans have. I really got into football after the 2010 World Cup, but I didn't have a team to support. Arsenal were a familiar name to me and I kind of just picked them up and became a fan.
I'm Dan Fitzpatrick. I write for EPLIndex.com and do podcasts on the EPL Round table. Since I have lived in the United States for my entire life, I don't have the classic "I was born five minutes from the stadium and fell in love" story lots of British fans have. I really got into football after the 2010 World Cup, but I didn't have a team to support. Arsenal were a familiar name to me and I kind of just picked them up and became a fan.
Q2. What is your favourite memory of a match involving your team and the Swans?
There have only been a handful of match ups between Arsenal and the Swans in the Premier League era, but my favorite encounter between the two would be the FA Cup third round replay in 2013. After piling on the pressure all game (25 shots 15 on target), Arsenal finally made the breakthrough in the 86th minute. The breakthrough came from a Jack Wilshere thunderbolt from outside the box past Michel Vorm to send us into the third round.
Q3. Ahead of this season, what are your thoughts on the Swans? Do you think we'll be a better team than last season?
I like the nice football Swansea play and that they've instituted it as their way. It seems sometimes that it is in fact about more than just results. They want to stay in the division, obviously, but they want to do it in style. A lot of this season comes down to how well Gary Monk transitions into coaching full time. I thought they improved in their play after he came in, but didn't always get the results. I'd be shocked if Swansea are in the relegation race as late into the season as they were in 2013/2014. I think the absence of European Football will help them. I see them finishing mid table and surviving with much more ease than last campaign.
Q4. What do you make of our transfer activity thus far? Do you think we need to make any more signings?
I think Swansea have done some smart business thus far. Losing Vorm won't be a huge blow since you already signed our former 'keeper Łukasz Fabiański on a free. I like the signing of Bafétimbi Gomis on a free to (hopefully) compete with Wilfried Bony rather than replace him. The re-signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson seems like a smart one adding a touch of class to the midfield. As alluded to earlier, the best piece of business the Swans can do is to keep Wilfried Bony as the Liberty.
I think Swansea have done some smart business thus far. Losing Vorm won't be a huge blow since you already signed our former 'keeper Łukasz Fabiański on a free. I like the signing of Bafétimbi Gomis on a free to (hopefully) compete with Wilfried Bony rather than replace him. The re-signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson seems like a smart one adding a touch of class to the midfield. As alluded to earlier, the best piece of business the Swans can do is to keep Wilfried Bony as the Liberty.
Q5. Have you visited the Liberty Staidum before? If so, what did you think? Are you planning on visiting this year?
No, I am yet to visit the Liberty Stadium. Unless they build a VERY large bridge connecting North America and the British Isles, I don't have any plans to go to the Liberty at this time.
No, I am yet to visit the Liberty Stadium. Unless they build a VERY large bridge connecting North America and the British Isles, I don't have any plans to go to the Liberty at this time.
Q6. If you had to pick, who would be your favourite Swansea player? And your least favourite?
Since I know most people will go with Bony, I'll go with Ki Sung-yueng. He really impressed me at Sunderland last season and was nothing short of a joy to watch. I don't specifically dislike any one in Swansea's squad so this is a tough one. I'll go with Chico Flores for his penchant to make the most of contact.
Q7.
Which Swansea manager (in the Premier League era - Rodgers, Laudrup or
Monk) have you been most impressed with? What do you think of Garry
Monk's chances with a full pre-season behind him?
I'd have to say Brendan Rodgers. He took the team up from the Championship and had a great first season in the top flight. His managed the team to an 11th place finish and had them safe by 11 points. Since moving on, Rodgers has shown how good a manager he is at Liverpool nearly leading them to their first ever Premier League title. Gary Monk is somewhat of an enigma to me. I wouldn't be surprised if he did well with Swansea or if he is absolutely abysmal. His ability to adjust to full
I'd have to say Brendan Rodgers. He took the team up from the Championship and had a great first season in the top flight. His managed the team to an 11th place finish and had them safe by 11 points. Since moving on, Rodgers has shown how good a manager he is at Liverpool nearly leading them to their first ever Premier League title. Gary Monk is somewhat of an enigma to me. I wouldn't be surprised if he did well with Swansea or if he is absolutely abysmal. His ability to adjust to full
time management will be huge for Swansea.
Q8. Finally, at
this moment in time how confident would you be if your "first eleven"
went up against ours, and how do you think your team will do in general
this season?
I'd feel pretty confident if our first XI came up against you guys. With the likes of Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez, etc in our team I feel we'd do pretty well. We took four points from you guys last season and it easily could have been six had it not been for an unfortunate late own goal by Mathieu Flamini. Still, you guys played us very tight both times we played you and have always been a troublesome team for us to go against since you came up in 2011.
Thanks to Dan for answering these questions! You can listen to him agreeing, disagreeing and mocking me on the EPLRoundTable Podcast and you can follow him on Twitter @The_Jersey_Fitz
I'd feel pretty confident if our first XI came up against you guys. With the likes of Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez, etc in our team I feel we'd do pretty well. We took four points from you guys last season and it easily could have been six had it not been for an unfortunate late own goal by Mathieu Flamini. Still, you guys played us very tight both times we played you and have always been a troublesome team for us to go against since you came up in 2011.
Thanks to Dan for answering these questions! You can listen to him agreeing, disagreeing and mocking me on the EPLRoundTable Podcast and you can follow him on Twitter @The_Jersey_Fitz