Arsenal get back to action after the international break when Swansea City visit the Emirates to face them on Saturday, 15th October 2016. The Gunners have struggled in the recent past against the Welsh outfit where they have suffered some bad losses at crucial junctures just like the last time they met in the League.
Both the teams have won four games out of the last 10 between the two and despite Swansea’s struggles so far this season, it could be a pretty competitive game.
Team News
The Gunners missed the services of Francis Coquelin and Lucas Perez in their last match, against Burnley, but the duo are expected to be available for Wenger by Saturday. It seems likely that the striker will be starting from the bench as Wenger won’t be disrupting the forward line which has won five consecutive games in the league.
Forward Olivier Giroud is however, still out with a toe injury. The partnership between Granit Xhaka and Santi Cazorla, has been a hit in the previous games so Coquelin would also be amongst the subs with the manager likely to persist with the Swiss-Spanish combination at the base of his midfield.
Aaron Ramsey’s ongoing recovery from a hamstring injury seems to be a slow one and he is expected to miss Saturday’s match with Arsenal facing a fixture list that requires them to negotiate eight matches in 22 days. Even though there were some injury scares for the like of Hector Bellerin and Mesut Ozil during the international break, the duo are fit and available for the clash on Saturday.
For the Swans, new signing Fernando Llorente and winger Jefferson Montero are doubts with their rib and ankle injuries respectively whilst Nathan Dyer will be out. Defender Federico Fernandez has shaken off a groin injury and should be available for the game.
Possible Lineups
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Xhaka, Cazorla; Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi; Sanchez
Swansea (4-3-3): Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Amat, Naughton; Britton, Fer, Cork; Sigurdsson, Routledge; Baston
Key Players
Laurent Koscielny would be the most important player for the hosts in the game as he would need to deal with the counter-attacking threat of the visitors and keep his concentration at the back in a match where Arsenal would be dominating possession. There would be situations where the home side can get too many people forward and be light at the back and in those situations the French defender would be the one who would need to contain the threat.
For Swansea, Gylfi Sigurdsson would be the main man as he has always played well against the Gunners and has scored against them as well. Sigurdsson’s set piece deliveries and clever movement is the one new manager Bradley would be counting upon when his side visit the Emirates on Saturday.
Betting Odds
Arsenal are favourites for the clash with their win rated at 27/100 as a win for the visitors is given at 23/2. A draw is priced at 5/1.
