Swansea welcome Arsenal to the Liberty Stadium for the late kick off on Sunday with both sides confident they can come out with a victory. There is only a two point difference between the teams and Swansea can leap ahead of the Gunners with a win here. Arsenal will want to continue their steady run in the league so far and start to cement a top four place, having only lost one but drawn half of their ten fixtures thus far.
Swansea started the season in excellent form, winning their first three fixtures before losing their next two to put a dent in their form. Since then, the Swans have only lost one of their last five, with three draws and a win against Leicester along the way. They currently hold the sixth place position and a good run of form now could see them enter the race for European competition next season having had a taste of the Europa League in the last campaign. Monk and co have been impressive at home so far, winning three of the five games so far so a positive result should be the only thing on the players’ minds for this one.
Arsenal’s form in the league has been up and down so far. On one hand, they’ve only lost one out of their ten matches so far but still sit in fourth position due to the five draws to their name. A hard-fought win against a stubborn Burnley side allowed them to register two wins on the trot following the 2-0 win against Sunderland the week before. That being said, the team will come into the game on a bad note having thrown away a 3-0 lead at home to draw 3-3 against Anderlecht in the Champions League. Results like these can have a detrimental affect on the mentality of the players but Arsene Wenger has plenty of experience of dealing with these situations and it could possibly make them stronger going forward.
Team News
Swansea
Jonjo Shelvey is suspended for the game after receiving a red card for two bookable offences during the draw against Everton but will be available after this contest. Tom Carroll, on loan from Arsenal’s neighbours Spurs, is likely to replace Shelvey in central midfield. Leon Britton is edging closer to making his first team return after missing a large part of the year with a knee injury.
Richards and Donnelly remain on the sidelines but Dwight Tiendalli and Jordi Amat should be fit within the next fortnight to give Garry Monk more options in his line up.
Arsenal
The Gunners will be without midfielder Mikel Arteta after the Spaniard injured his hamstring in the 3-3 draw in the Champions League in midweek, which may keep him out for the next fortnight. Jack Wilshere has a chance of featuring after recovering from illness and may slot into the void left by Arteta.
The likes of Koscielny (calf), Ospina (hip), Ozil (knee ligament), Debuchy and Giroud (both ankle) are all long term absentees as Arsenal’s injury list grows further.
Possible Line-Ups
Interesting Facts
- Swansea haven’t beaten Arsenal in their last 5 attempts in all competitions.
- In the six Premier League games between Arsenal and Swansea, there have been 17 goals between them.
- Arsenal have won more points from losing positions than any other team this season.
- Swansea on the other hand have dropped the joint most points from winning positions this season.
- Arsenal are undefeated in 14 of their last 15 matches in the Premier League.
- Arsenal have scored exactly two goals in each of their last five away trips to Swansea in all competitions.
- This is the best start Swansea have ever made to a Premier League season with 15 points from their opening ten games.
Recent League Head to Heads
2013/2014      Tue 25 Mar    Arsenal           2 – 2    Swansea City
2013/2014      Sat 28 Sep     Swansea City 1 – 2    Arsenal
2012/2013      Sat 16 Mar     Swansea City 0 – 2    Arsenal
2012/2013      Sat 01 Dec     Arsenal           0 – 2    Swansea City
2011/2012      Sun 15 Jan     Swansea City 3 – 2    Arsenal
2011/2012      Sat 10 Sep     Arsenal           1 – 0    Swansea City
Key Players
Swansea: Wilfried Bony
Wilfried Bony had got off to a slow start to the season with many expecting better performances from him and were left even more frustrated when he receive a red card in Swansea’s 1-0 loss to Southampton a few weeks ago. But since his suspension, he has found some great form scoring four goals in his last four appearances in the Premier League, including two goals in their 2-0 win over Leicester a fortnight ago. It is no surprise that he is scoring goals regularly as his goal scoring record for Swansea since joining at the start of last season is very good, with Bony averaging nearly a goal every two games with 20 goals in 44 appearances in the Premier League – he also has a shot accuracy of 52% from 27 shots showing that he can be a man to rely on he is given a chance.
Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez
There can’t be much of an argument that Alexis Sanchez is the main reason why Arsenal have been getting results recently as he has inspired them to back-to-back wins in the Premier League with five goals in his last three games showing just how vital he is to this injury ridden Arsenal side. The Chilean has great pace, trickery and more attacking power on the ball along with the ability to cause severe problems to defenders, winning 53% of his 57 take ons as well as creating 21 chances with two assists to his name. His goal scoring record since joining Arsenal has been brilliant but his shot accuracy has also been great with 71% of his 21 shots at goal being accurate and a sublime 33.3% conversion rate from his 21 shots.
Prediction
With Swansea’s good home form this term, I can see them pulling off an upset in this one. Arsenal are coming into the game demoralised after the Champions League draw and I think Garry Monk’s men will be able to capitalise on the opportunity and pounce on a somewhat wounded animal.
My Prediction: Swansea 2-1 Arsenal Â
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