Arsenal v Swansea preview

Posted on by Tony Attwood

By Tony Attwood

Arsène Wenger revealed the following team news ahead of the Swansea City game:

And so the long trek south from the Midlands, with the roads frozen (at least where I live) and a very cold night ahead.  Commentators will undoubtedly talk about Arsenal fans being fed up with the club hence the empty seats, while forgetting that what many of us have to do is travel hundreds of miles to watch each game, with (in this sort of weather) considerable uncertainty about getting back.

Really there ought to be a real focus on what lots of people get up to on match days in order to get there, rather than the endless moaning.

I might also mention that in order for the match to be shown on ITV9 or some such channel the game has to kick off at 7.30, meaning we have to leave even earlier than usual.   Us long distance supporters are long suffering and rarely complain, but in the snow and cold complaints seem to come more readily!

Anyway, we know that Koscielny is suspended and Arshavin will take his place on the bench.   Arteta is out for two or three weeks with a calf strain.  Rosicky is also out with a calf injury but probably only for a week or two.

And incidentally Fabianski is just one week away from full training.

Arsène Wenger has said that Jack Wilshere is getting better and better and so he will definitely be in the team.  If he gets a break apparently, it will not be for a while.

So we are probably going to see the same team as started the game against Man C but Mert. in for Kos.
As for the transfers it seems today that
  • We going to buy Mohamed Diame (midfield, from West Ham)
  • We are not going to buy David Villa from Barcelona
  • We are also not going to buy Will Hughes from Derby County
  • Diego Milito from Internazionale
  • Cesc Fabregas will return to Arsenal one day some day, anyday, maybe.
  • We are going to buy Adam Szalai a striker at Mainz 05

All of which is probably nonsense.

But then again, what do I know?

The books…

The sites…

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67 Replies to “Arsenal v Swansea preview”

  1. From having done a few match reviews myself of Swansea this season I can say they are a very decent team.

    They can defend very well and don’t concede that many goals. I have seen Manchester City beating them 1-0 at home and I am sure that if their keeper wouldn’t have injured himself when he went for the ball he would have stopped the ball from going in. In fact the best chances in that game came to Swansea who could and should have won that game.

    Also against MU they played a very decent game. MU played a high pressing game on the day and I thought it brought them in trouble a bit. MU sitting mostly deep 5 players in defence and with 3-4 players chasing the ball and Van Persie lurking around. Swansea had some problems with that but they also had their chances to win the game.

    Their 0-2 win at chelsea in the Carling cup also says a lot about their ability to defend when needed.

    And they played a great game when they came to the Emirates last time.

    Swansea really are a team that can be difficult to beat on the day. They had some great results on the road this season.

    So I am expecting a though game tonight.

    Oh yeah, ref tonight is Clattenburg. Yeah in all its wisdom the PGMOL has send the same ref to this game as they did for the PL game which we lost.

    Usually a good ref but since the Chelsea-MU game he wasn’t himself lately. I have seen some reviews below par from him. And in the Arsenal-Swansea game he surely wasn’t at his best and he surely wasn’t pro-Arsenal. Not that he needs to be pro-Arsenal but it came close to being rather against-Arsenal with a few decisions going against us that could have had an impact.

  2. Hell, could have written a preview article about it myself 😉
    Or could have put it together in one article

  3. Just remembered I also did the Swansea-Everton game that was won by Everton. One big man making the difference on the day. Big hairy man it was. 😉

  4. I dont want to see the same team, not because I don’t trust those who played against Man C, but with due respect to Swansea who have already beaten us once, if you don’t rotate in this game, and with Chelsea looming on Sunday, then when will you ever rotate?
    I would like to see Szcz, Jenkinson, Per, TV5, Gibbs, Coquelin, Ramsey, The Ox, Podolski, Giroud, Arshavin. This team has enough pace and quality to win. In case we’re still drawing or losing after 75 minutes, then we can bring on carzola, Theo and little Jack to give us quality, drive and experience.
    If we’re winning after 80 minutes, then Arsene brings on either Diaby 9 to get further game time), Eisfeld (is he eligible?) or Gnabry.

  6. I would like to see Aaron Ramsey start tonight’s game in a central mid field role – instead of Diaby. Ramsey is a good player and now’s the chance to give him a game. Perhaps start Jenkinson at right back as well.

  7. Your servers seem to be on Central European Time? Are they running from Walter’s garage?

  8. Reading the Guardian…”Wenger Refuses to Rest Wilshere”. This encapsulates quite nicely their attitude toward M. Wenger. He is damned if does, damned if he doesn’t. If we lose, they will say he was played for nothing. Or, if we win and sometime down the road he gets injured or needs to be rotated, this match will be cited as proof of Wenger’s poor rotation policy. Muppets.

  9. oh my GOD Clattenburg !not again so we are out of the FA hope I’m wrong because with this GUY don’t expect anything good for The Arsenal fingers crossed.

  10. If we don’t make too many stupid errors, we should make it through.

    As far as the ref goes, despite Clattenburg’s tendency toward high-profile mistakes, he seems to be one of the few refs that gives us a fair run. After all it could be Dowd or Dean…..

  11. Swansea have proved themselves a very decent outfit.

    However this will be their third away game inside seven days. After winning 2-0 at Chelsea and then gaining a hard fought 0-0 draw at Everton I’m expecting Swansea to conceded a goal tonight.

    I doubt Swansea’s squad is big enough to cope with the recent fixture congestion they have/are facing and so any team rotation may also benefit Arsenal’s cause tonight.

    If we keep a clean sheet I think we win.

    2-0 Arsenal

  13. @GoingGoingGooner
    Well said, the media always criticize Wenger regardless of what he does. When his side was going a whole season unbeaten the theme was how many red cards Arsenal were totting up under his tenure, or how many sides he fielded without any Englishman in the starting line up. The team was on a roll then and they had to find something ‘negative’ to say. Even if this current team were to suddenly go on long stretch of wins they’ll start talking about something else. Best not to read their rags.

  14. By the letter of the law(or if dean was ref) TV would’ve conceded a penalty & red card for holding onto Bartley’s arm in the box there.

  15. A bit worrying, Bartley telling Clatternburg he ‘missed’ the pull by TV. Hope we don’t get penalized for that in second half…. It looks Clatternburg was saying he dint think it was a foul though, but sure eagle-eyed dean would’be seen things differently.

  16. By the letter of the law swansea should’ve conceded a penalty & red card for that shove on Walcott.

  17. @AI by the later of the rules(if Dean was ref)Smallings would have received a red card or a penalty for holding Carlton Cole arm in the box at oldtrash. Thanks to Fergus no one can dare do that @oldtoilet

  19. @Tony how did you know that these guys will be talking of the empty seats! The cameras are trying very hard to look for some but im afraid they are not easy to see.

  21. @Kampala gun
    No real surprise there.
    Swansea should’ve conceded two penalties in my book, and we are talking clear penalties here, not some by-the-letter-of-the-law nonsense

  24. Real sad, if the only penalties we are ever going to get at home have to be 200% certainties….

  25. @Kampala

    He sell ass at stamford bridge, sending off two chelsea player and allowing an offside goal.

  27. Where the f is the AAA, waiting for us to lose and then come out in hordes? Can’t help but feel swansea are playing for penalties though.

  33. Well we should have won that game by a big score line. I think we were keeping the goals for next Sunday 😉

  34. Well played jack wilshere, I was starting to think that was going to be one of those games. A huge amount of possession and chances, but a bit wasteful in front of goal. Was interesting to see le coq play more of an anchor role, allowing jack to get forward so well, we really need that sort of holding mf. I know it is hard to judge, Swansea were not at their best or most ambitious but thought coq did well, an option in artetas absence. Great touch from giroud for the goal, not for the first time recently. Very relieved to avoid et or even worse, pens.

  35. Well played Arsenal. Will watch the match this evening as its work time in Sydney, but a much needed victory.

  37. Manure gets penalty from the blue but they miss the white pele,Arsenal should have got one but hell no.All animals are equal but others are more equal than others.

  39. wow..that was mind blowing!! The performance I mean. Reminds me the time we control the game..chance after chance..and then we needed only one goal..heheh..congratz lads!!!

  40. Makes me wonder the mancs dont create as much however they sit pretty at the top with a lot of assistance.

  41. Southampton draws with Chelsea !! I think the Arsenal is not or that bad we drew 1-1 so as some twats say Chelsea! need to buy more to avoid such results hmmm just wonder on what planet do some people come from.

  42. Have a feeling the critics will find things to focus on even with a win Kampala. Hate to steal their thunder, but they could focus on finishing, theo, wages, transfers or lack of them. A win, but rest assured, some will not be able to enjoy it.

  43. What a crap performance, Only to beat Swansea 1-0 when it was obvious that Swansea were saving themselves for their next game with Chelsea. Look at all the empty seats, let’s remind ourselves that MC fans had to pay £62….the trophy cabinet at the Emirates is empty..AW hasn’t signed any new players and his coat won’t fasten properly.. Michu will make the difference, he always scores against Arsenal. OK so we won in the end, but we are far too dependent on Wilshere, obviously a one-man team… too busy trying to score the perfect goal, but players not good enough to do it, fans are really frustrated and rightly so. Arsene Wenger can’t smile, but then he has nothing to smile about.

    Surely this gets me a job as ESPN commentator?

  44. @Kampala gun
    Don’t think they’re thinking anything at the moment, probably busy crying into their bowl of soup/nachos/cereal, not happy that the team won. Seriously, we’ve been seeing so many negative comments on this site its starting to feel like listening to talk-shyte. Mandy’s right, you can trust them to come out with something ridiculous; why was so-and-so not played in this position, or kept on the bench when…. best not give them ideas.

  46. I can understand debate, constructive criticism. The club have certainly had ups and downs. But football surely is to be enjoyed, there are more important things in life, and things over which we have far more control, despite the claims of those who would force out wenger, the board and 99% of the players. Yes we are all passionate about the game, a poor performance can put me into quite a foul mood but the game is still to be enjoyed. And we are in a better situation than most. If the exploits of this team and club cause individuals so much hatred and misery, surely it is time to find another interest. If you are upset to the point of apoplexy about wages, players salaries, just do the world a favour and start following your local non league, or lower league club. I get the issues, I know everyone is different, but I just cannot get the negativity and hatred spewed out by some. A win is a win and to be enjoyed. But back to the negativity, anyone else notice Podolski was at his most anonymous today?

  48. On the subject of fans who seem to find it easier to criticize than support, a good example of how important it is for fans to get behind their team is chelsea. They’ve won only one in six home games. There could be many reasons for that, but the main one surely should be the constant boos that have been ringing round stamford bridge since the day Rafa arrived at the bridge. Contrast that with their impressive away form, winning games by 4 or more goals presumably because their contingent is probably only 2000 or 3000 fans, and one can easily see what a negative impact the boos are having on the team. The manager was appointed, the fans should accept that and get behind him. If they did, they would probably be breathing down the united’s neck. Only stupid fans publicly criticize their own, and a few of our fans can learn from that.

  49. @Mandy Dodd ,you are damn right but if you tell them to do what is best for them they spit venom and they take themselves to be knowing almost everything Arsenal should be.

  50. Think some of the Wenger Out Brigade may also be upset that pep has slipped the net and will be joining bayern.
    And For those who want wenger out, saw an interesting report on a meeting with journalist philippe auclair
    http://www.arsenaltrust.org/news/latest-news/report-of-ast-meeting-with-philippe-auclair

    Auclair may not know any more than any of us, but he is supposed to be on pretty good terms with David dein. Note that…and only in his opinion, should wenger depart, he could be replaced…not by Jose, klopp, or now def not pep, but by the likes of Martinez or lucien favre. Sure they are very nice chaps and good managers, and I will back them if indeed they do arrive….but think I will chose wenger over them for now…..and enjoy the win this evening , and one performance especially.

  51. Very enjoyable match which I was lucky enough to be at.

    Great atmosphere, great singing and chanting and support from the fans.

    The boys worked their socks off from start to finish and definitely deserved to win.

    I came home and heard what the ESPN commentary had been like. No surprise there, and John confirms it. No relation to the match as it really was at all.

    What a relief to come on Untold and find it free of AAA! It’s been a while.

  52. Good win tonight and as Mandy has said – lets enjoy the win and our progress into the fourth round. Overall I thought it was a good team performance with one or two great performances.
    Well done the Arsenal.

    @Al at 10.23pm

    Nice comment.

  53. oh man, it was on at 6:45am but I had to go to work. So loaded up my Arseblog live text commentary as I always do and yelled, fist pumped on the train waking up the sleepers!!!
    Love it….
    Comon Jacky boy!!!
    Pep to Munich, hahahaah suck a dick chelsea, city and UTD. Now if Wenger goes in next few years, maybe Pep can be inline for a change by then?
    only when AW wants to but…

  54. Guess we can also be negative about the fact we are unlikely to sign cavani in this window

  55. I can no longer tolerate the ESPN commentaters, especially the Scottish bloke, Craig Burley, who for some reason appears to find it impossible to say anything about Arsenal which isn’t negative. I now have the pictures on the tele and the Arsenal.com online commentary running in sync from the computer and enjoy the matches so much more now not having to listen to the ESPN idiots.

  56. @mick

    I feel for you. This is the second season now supporting Arsenal, and not watching a single game. Just the BBC commentary from the website. I suppose under different circumstances, I might try to find some kind of Spanish broadcast. The commentators can babble all they want, and I haven’t a clue what they are saying. But, I sure like how all the Spanish commentators get into “Gooooooooooooal”. Or however you spell it.

    @world

    Someone has a blog at TheGuardian which surprised me. About the Kompany tackle on Wilshere which the FA reversed.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/jan/16/jack-wilshere-vincent-kompany-mike-dean

    The blogger feels that if Kompany had of broken Wilshere’s leg, that ManCity would NOT have appealed. I think the blogger is wrong, ManCity would have appealed regardless.

    Some tackles are malicious, the tackler has intent. There are lots of people who do things which are dangerous, and intent never is part of it. It is the people who trained them, that have the malicious intent.

    If Kompany lunges into tackles, he should not have cards rescinded because he happened to not break someone’s leg.

  57. @Mandy
    Can’t be more agree with you about Pep
    Thank God he finally picked Bayern so deluded fans can give themselves a rest!

  58. Hell I missed this one. Looking at the comments posted here, )(*&^% I missed this. I cant curse my Internet provider enough. I got to see the 1st 10 mins, and then black out….

    And I heard the ESPN guy saying “Swansea are a good team. Even though the early exchanges is all ARSENAL, they are good at soaking up the pressure and then will hit you back with counter”. NONSENSE… Last time, Wales, under pressure they cracked and were lucky to escape with a draw (NOT that we were excellent that day).

    Waiting for Arsenal.com to upload the game….

  59. IT’s about time all this moaning about ESPN came to a halt. While I will accept the criticism about the commentaries, for those of us who cannot attend in person, as many games as we would like, the broadcaster plays an important role in our support of Arsenal FC.
    The camera work is OK and there is always the Mute button.

  60. Missed the game as a friend’s birthday do intervened. Apparently we hammered the Swans. Must admit I expected us to win this.

    @Al comment at 10.23, strange outburst. For a start winning a home tie in the FA Cup is hardly going to quell the critics. That’ll happen when Arsenal win something.

  61. A needed victory against predictably fatigued opposition but you only beat what’s in front of you.

    Jack was special last night though. Hopefully he can continue his rate of progress for the remainder of the season.

    A word for Swansea. I do have a soft spot for this club. A well run club with a good footballing philosophy & manager that oozes class.

  62. Don’t know about the fatigue factor that much Tasos. Swansea had one day more between the game than we and we had to play a whole game with 10 players and most of them were out tonight again.

  63. @Walter

    Fair point. Although I do think Swansea are feeling the effects of playing three tough “away” fixtures in seven days.

    Remember Arsenal had a full weeks rest last week and that may have a played a part in this game?

    I’m not trying to belittle Arsenal’s result. More acknowledging how important rest and recovery has become in terms of performance nowadays.

  64. I had forgotten that Swansea went to Chelsea last week Tasos.

    You are right about getting more rest being important.
    So in a way we are a bit lucky now that both our next opponents (chelsea and West Ham) also had to play in midweek.

  65. @Walter

    Also you have to take into account Swansea’s 2-0 victory at The Emirates in November. That came after Arsenal had endured a tough run of fixtures.

    Swansea looked sharper, physically stronger that day and duly won the match late-on when Arsenal’s level had dropped.

    Much the same as yesterdays game in reverse.

  66. I think all the empty seats were mainly those usually occupied by the boo boys (and girls). It seems without their presence there was more encouragement for the team

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