Arsenal vs. Swansea review – Gunners gutted in last minute!

Well, what a rollercoaster that was. Arsenal needed a result tonight, badly, and we nearly got one despite playing badly. Arsene Wenger made an earlier sub than usual, and it was definitely the right move. Lukas Podolski came on to rescue the Gunners with a goal and an assist when we were in serious trouble, but an unlucky last minute goal gave Swansea the draw.

Arsenal started okay but a little nervous and once Wilfried Bony had shocked Arsenal with a goal on their first attack, we made very heavy work of it. Chamberlain was a shadow of the player that put the frighteners on Bayern Munich recently and absolutely nothing was working for Giroud.

To be honest, it was pretty poor all round although Arsenal were dominating the game and searching for an equaliser, but there was a fear in the players, possibly due to the drubbing in the last game. Podolski made the difference not long after coming on midway through the second half, linking with Gibbs for the first and setting up Giroud straight after to turn the game on it’s head.

Kim Kallstrom came on and looked pretty good for a man making his debut in these circumstances. But just when it looked as if we had a morale boosting win, Swansea grabbed a leveller with a slice of luck and we now have to play host to Man City on Saturday with fourth place in jeopardy. How has it come to this?

Arsenal Vs Swansea... (Ox-lade Red card overturned)

Arsenal have Keiran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain available after the controversial red card shown to the former for the latter’s handball during the 6-0 loss to Chelsea was overturned on appeal. They will be without defender Laurent Koscielny because of a calf problem. Captain Thomas Vermaelen is likely to play at centre-half alongside Per Mertesacker, while 19-year-old Spaniard Hector Bellerin, who was on loan at Watford, has been drafted into the squad as cover.

Carzola

Swansea head coach Garry Monk has reported no fresh injury concerns following his side's 3-2 defeat at Everton. Given the quick turnaround in fixtures, Monk might opt to start fit-again Spanish striker Michu, who scored twice when Swansea won 2-0 in north London 15 months ago. Michu, who was sidelined for three months due to an ankle injury, has featured as a substitute in Swansea's last two games against West Brom and Everton.
MANAGER QUOTES
Arsene Wenger: "We are intelligent enough and care enough about the club to, of course, be disappointed with our performance (in the 6-0 defeat to Chelsea). I believe Man City was different, (but) Liverpool, yes. The common thing was that it was a 12.45 game and twice we were caught at the start of the game. We think about that and at the moment there is no rational explanation other than the quality of our opponents and that we were caught at the start of the game. Why? We don't really know."
Garry Monk: "We are expecting a reaction from them. That's the message to my boys. We will try to go up there with the right attitude and put on the right performance to come away with something. You can never see that sort of result coming, but obviously circumstances and stuff dictated the final scoreline. In terms of that game, I don't think you can really delve too far into it because of the circumstances that happened. The sending off changed that game, but Chelsea are a very good team. It was two powerhouses in this league, but Chelsea had the upper hand on the day. It is a horrible feeling whenever you lose a game, but to lose by such a wide margin is always hard to take. But the good thing in football is you get a chance very soon to try to put it right. That's what we have to be aware of and make sure we try to counter it."