please log in to view this image ............................................... please log in to view this image Arsenal FC.................... vs .................... Swansea City The Emirates Stadium London Sat 10-9-11 3:00 PM KO For links to watch todays game online, click HERE Welcome one and all to the match thread for the much anticipated game between Arsenal and Swansea. This is the first meeting of these sides in 28 years, where the Swans lost 2-1 at Highbury in the old First Division, and most Swans fans would have looked at you stupid if you'd have said we'd come into this game above the Gunners, but that's football! Despite already playing the newest team of Galacticos in Man City, this is the first match of the league season where the Swans will face a team who have long been established as one of the top teams in the country, and this is one of the games that people will have been scanning the fixture lists for the minute they were announced. Both sides have built a reputation of playing attractive football on the ground, and going up against Arsenal will be the strongest test yet of the Swan's possession game, against a team with an ethos similar to our own. The Match; Swansea City come into this game on the back of continuingly impressive performances, albeit performances minus goals, but the improvement is there for everyone to see. Pre-season, there were doubts we would be able to retain possession for large periods of the game against higher quality opposition, which so far have proven unfounded, as the Swans slowly grow into the league. Arsenal are a different beast though. Playing a style very similar to the Swans, but with a higher calibre of player, it will be intriguing to see how the two teams cope with each others style. The Swans signed two players on deadline day in Darnel Situ and Fede Bessone, but both are unlikely to feature realistically. Arsenal... well... as much as they probably want to forget about it, they come into the game on the back of that match, losing 8-2 to Man Utd, and the international break will either be just what they needed, or exactly what they didn't need, depending on your point of view. Arsene Wenger also did a bit of wheeling and dealing on deadline day, bringing in Park Chu-young, Andre Santos, Per Mertesacker, Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta. I'd imagine Arteta will come straight into the team against Swansea, and he will surely immediately take on the mantle of "senior midfielder" given the losses of Fabregas and Nasri. Prior Form; (most recent at top) Manchester United 8 - 2 Arsenal Barclays Premier League Udinese 1 - 2 Arsenal UEFA Champions League Qualifier Arsenal 0 - 2 Liverpool Barclays Premier League Arsenal 1 - 0 Udinese UEFA Champions League Qualifier Newcastle 0 - 0 Arsenal Barclays Premier League Swansea City 0 - 0 Sunderland AFC Barclays Premier League Shrewsbury Town 3 – 1 Swansea City League Cup Swansea City 0 – 0 Wigan Athletic Barclays Premier League Manchester City 4 – 0 Swansea City Barclays Premier League Team News; For the Swans, Garry Monk is still continuing his rehabilitation after an infection put him back a few steps... but the continued impressive performances of Caulker & Williams mean this is one area where we shouldn't be concerned. Bessone and Situ could be on the bench for this game, but otherwise we're likely to see a very similar, if not identical team to the one which played against Sunderland last time out. For Arsenal, all of their new signings will be hoping to figure, and you'd imagine Mertesacker and Arteta will figure at least. Park Chu-Young could also figure after impressing, and hitting a hat-trick, during the international break. Jack Wilshire has been sidelined for three months, and the game could come too soon for Sagna, Gibbs and Diaby who are all doubts, although Sagna could well figure. Gervinho and Alex Song are both suspended. Thomas Vermaelen has now also been ruled out of the game, so either Djourou, Koscielny or Squillaci will partner Per Mertesacker in central defence. Trivia; Completely guessed lineups; Arsenal Szczezny Sagna Mertesacker Koscielny Santos Frimpong Arteta Ramsey Chu-Young Walcott Van Persie Swansea City Vorm Rangel Taylor Williams Caulker Britton Augustien Dobbie Sinclair Dyer Graham Key Battles; Arteta-Ramsey-Frimpong vs Britton-Augustien-Dobbie Midfield. Key. Both of our teams like to get the ball on the floor and retain possession before working openings, and realistically you have to fancy Arsenal to come out on top in this battle. We can hope that new signings and a lack of form will reduce cohesion in the middle for Wenger's charges, but whether this will be the case remains to be seen. Arteta will be looking to prove he's capable of filling the void left by Fabregas, and in his eyes this must look like a good opportunity to do so, easier than Man Utd away anyway! For the Swans, I have a feeling Dobbie will be given the nod, and he will be looking to prove a point after being benched after the Man City game. Analysis; Swansea City head up the M4 slightly buoyed by recent performances at the Liberty Stadium. A brief spell aside, the first game out at Man City was painful to watch at times, but the last two games, against Wigan and Sunderland respectively, have given fans reason to hope, if not believe just yet. Swansea created more opportunities against Sunderland, and also their fitness levels seemed to have improved. A criticism had been they tired in the last 20 minutes or so, but they kept the tempo high right until the final whistle. A real point of interest will be for how long the Swans can retain possession at a time. If Arsenal steal the ball back immediately time after time early on, the Swans might lose their heads slightly and this could mean bad news. On the other hand, a good first 15 minutes from the Swans could mean Arsenal start to feel the pressure that's been building following recent results. Arsenal, meanwhile, have to take positives from the matches against Udinese, where they managed to get a result as a result of playing good football. They must take pride and confidence from this and not abandon their emphasis on pass and move, but at the same time show the steel that Alex Song, for example, normally brings to the side. The international break may have curtailed some of the new signings ability to integrate into the squad, but at the same time it's given Arsene Wenger time to analise the defeat at Old Trafford and work on areas where they need to improve. In defence, Arsenal have signed a beast in Mertesacker. Danny Graham will have to be at his best to get anything out of him or his partner in crime Thomas Vermaelen, and will need all the support the midfield can give him. Also, he'll have to get past Szczezny, fast turning into one of the best young keepers in the game in my opinion. At the other end of the field, the Swans have their own star between the sticks in Michel Vorm. So far, he hasn't put a foot wrong and has beome more and more impressive as time has gone on. Another reason to be cheerful for the Swans fans is the emergence of Steven Caulker. Borrowed for the year from the Gunners mates across the way, he is already looking like a quality acquisition, and has rapidly formed a sound partnership with Ashley Williams. Keeping Robin Van Persie quiet will be a job that takes up most of their afternoon, and they'll have to be careful not to get too sucked in by him and leave space for Walcott, Park and others to run into. Expect to see lots of the game played in wide areas, with lots of raking passes for flyers to run onto. Walcott, Park, Sagna, Santos, Dyer, Sinclair, Routledge, Taylor... there is a lot of width and pace to be found by searching out these players, and it remains to be seen how the respective players fare. Will Walcott terrorise Taylor? Will Dyer go past Santos early on and run at him with confidence all game? I think things like this will be key. I fear for an early Arsenal goal, as this could lead to a rout, but likewise I think a goal early for the Swans and the home fans anxiety wil transfer onto the players. If we score early I'd fancy us to nick a point at least. Obviously, there's the old theory that after a big loss a team always comes back stronger, but I think this will go one of two ways, and either way could be catastrophic for those concerned. An early goal for Arsenal and the Swans will be in big trouble against a team backed by a capacity crowd... but then again a result for the Swans would, no matter what anyone says to the contrary, have people wondering about how long Arsene Wenger's tenure will endure. Scottswan's famously biased, ill-fated and banned prediction; Arsenal 2 - 1 Swansea
Nice work, I think we (Arsenal) will come out on top 3-1 I think Swansea will get their first Premier League goal due to a new partnership in defence (possibly), Arteta to score on his debut. We need to continue our 100% record so I'll say Santos sent off on his debut (it seems to be a habit for new signings, maybe some sort of initiation)
Good effort Scott, up to the normal standards still! Going to be very difficult to call this game, mainly because Arsenals transfers may make it hard to gel together and get the win they so desperately need against the Swans. Swans will get a goal I reckon, but if we score early, with the crowd at their back, we may feel the backlash of the Man U game in full force.
From what I could find online that seemed like a likely midfield. Maybe if you were up against a bigger side, Wenger might try to find some way of finding a defensive option, but because, realistically, you should be looking to win this match I expect him to put out an attacking lineup hoping to win in style. Alex Song picked up a match 3 ban (as did Gervinho in the same game) for stamping on Barton, so he won't be available against the Swans, but this is the last game of their suspensions.
Nice one Scotty. Personally I'm hoping Arshavin plays as he's been bl00dy awful from the games I've seen. Too lazy to track back and when he does he tends to scythe the player down and was lucky to stay on the pitch against Man U - good news for Sinclair and Dyer. I do think Arsenal will take the result though and think Arteta is a great acquisition.
Bollocks, yeah that's fairly obvious. For some reason I thought he was suspended? Him in the predicted lineup instead of Rosicky you reckon?
excellent thread, except you have airbrushed out the shrews v swans result. 3-1 to the shrews and the swans sent upping, still best of luck at the emirates you may need it, we certainly will on the 20th
Even though he is unpredictable I'd prefer him over Rosicky. I can see Rosicky being useful in some games this season as an impact sub, but wouldn't think of starting him based on his performances the last 2 years. I kind of miss the old Fabregas, Hleb, Rosicky midfield though . We looked so ****ing good that season before those inexplicable 2 months where we drew practically everyone we met. The closest we were to winning the title since the last one IMO.
Nice fred Frimpong at DM for Arsenal I'd expect to see a MF of Rosicky, Frimpong, Arteta. I think Arsenal will have a point to prove on Saturday
Another terrific effort Scott. I am fearful of an Arsenal backlash after their last game. Still, this is what we want to be doing, playing the best teams in the country. We`ve got to man up a bit and start putting away the chances we create. I`m hoping that they have`nt got over THAT result and we could nick it. However, I think we`ll lose by the odd one or two, unless we`re very lucky and pinch it in the 92nd minute.
I cant see us getting anything at arsenal, i would love it if we could though, But i fear that after the 8-2 hammering by man utd then with the new players and old they will have something to prove to arsen and their passionate fans, If they score an early goal then i fear the worse with at least a 4-0 beating.
