Arsenal visited the Liberty Stadium on Saturday to lock horns against Swansea. Fixtures against the Wales-based club have always been a nervy one for Arsenal and considering how the league table is poised, it was a crucial fixture.
The Gunners passed the test comfortably this time around as they thrashed the home side by four goals without any reply. A goal each from Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sánchez and own goals from Jack Cork and Kyle Naughton ensured that Arsène Wenger’s men left with a jovial mood.
From the match which looked pretty much like a one-sided affair, we have pencilled down three talking points which were derived by us to give a brief overview of what had transpired.
Arsenal gave a fitting reply!
Prior to kick-off at the Liberty Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion meant that their arch rivals had added pressure to deal with. Arsenal were not at their very best against Bournemouth in the league or Preston North End in the FA Cup in their last two outings, thus implying that a slip-up was to be avoided.
The London outfit did just what the doctor ordered and silenced the critics, at least for the time being. The big names stepped up, delivering at a time when it really mattered and in their quest of kissing the league silverware, they need to maintain consistency.
Swansea Are Digging Their Own Graveyard
With merely fifteen points from 21 league games, Swansea allowed Arsenal to exploit the loopholes. They failed to unlock the visiting defence, failed to serve their forwards and let Wenger’s men get into their flamboyant attacking mood, which is so hard to contain once they get going. Sadly, Swansea are the architects of their own downfall and things are looking pretty scary for them.
The Welshman Stood Firmly On Welsh Soil
Wenger employed the pairing of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey in the middle of the park. A lot of eyes were placed on the performance of Ramsey who has been thrown under a lot of criticism lately. However, the Welsh international proved his credentials with a terrific outing.
He put on a brilliant box-to-box display, was energetic and involved himself in most of Arsenal’s movements to drive the ball forward. The Gunners need a lot more from their no. 8 if they are want to impose a strong title challenge.
