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Swansea City v Arsenal Preview | Key Men & Team News

While they’re still one of the favourites to be relegated, Swansea City have seen their results improve since the hiring of new manager Carlos Carvahal.  Since his hiring, the Swans have lost only once in all competitions and have registered wins against Watford and Liverpool.  They will be at a disadvantage against Arsenal as they had to play on Saturday, while the Gunners got the weekend off after being knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round.  That said, they’ll face an Arsenal team that has struggled away from home all season and they’ll look at this as an opportunity to get some unexpected points.

Arsenal have had an extremely eventful January that may lead them to believe they have a chance to sneak into the top four by the end of the season, but they’ll have to improve their away form to do so.  They have won three of their 12 away matches this season, including losses to Bournemouth, Stoke City, and Watford.  If Arsenal are going to sneak into the top four above two of Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Manchester United, they have to win these kind of games.

Team News

Swansea are likely to be without Renato Sanches against Arsenal as the Portuguese’s fitness is a major doubt, according to Physioroom.com.  They may also be without Roque Mesa after he missed out on the squad against Notts County because of talks over his future at the club.

Olivier Giroud could miss out due to a hamstring injury, while Danny Welbeck and Santi Cazorla are expected to miss out, according to Physioroom.com.  At the time of writing, Arsene Wenger has yet to confirm whether new signing Henrik Mkhitaryan will make his debut against Swansea.

Key Players

Swansea City: Jordan Ayew

Since Carvahal took over, Jordan Ayew has started five matches and scored in three of them.  He has scored some fantastic goals in the last month and is threatening to become a consistent source of goals, something Swansea have severely lacked all season.  The Ghanian has been inconsistent his whole career, but if he can find a patch of good form for the next few months, he could save Swansea City.

Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette

Lacazette finally broke his eight-match scoring drought against Crystal Palace last weekend, finishing off a lovely team goal.  He looked like the kind of striker Arsenal broke their transfer record for, registering five shots on the Gunners destruction of Palace.  Arsenal will need Lacazette to start scoring consistently against the bottom half teams if they are too pick up enough points to get themselves back into the Champions League next season.

Prediction

Arsenal have been truly atrocious away from home this season, so Swansea have a chance to get something here.  That said, Arsenal should still be able to squeeze out a victory.

Prediction: 2-1 Arsenal

thejerseyfitz
thejerseyfitz
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