Arsenal Beaten But They Deserve Benefit Of Doubt

Match Review: Arsenal 0 Swansea 1 - Premier League 11.05.15

Arsenal’s eleven match unbeaten run has come to an end with a whimper, after a frustrating and avoidable home defeat to Swansea. Gary Monk’s side completed a double over us having beaten us in the away fixture and despite our dominance of possession, we were left empty handed through a combination of Fabianski’s saves and our own poor finishing.

Arsene Wenger named an unchanged team for the fifth game in a row, but the first half of the game was absolutely dire. Aside from a neat bit of play which finished with Giroud forcing a good save from Fabianski, nothing happened. We kept the ball, probed, but Swansea kept every single player back in their half of the pitch and formed a wall which we couldn’t break through. The atmosphere around the ground was flat and lifeless, thanks largely to the Monday night kick off. Sky’s scheduling back fired on them as it resulted in a lack lustre game and a half empty stadium.

We woke up a bit in the second half and started creating some half chances. Alexis and Ramsey both hit the side netting and Giroud had a decent opening on the edge of the area, but fired straight at Fabianski. Wilshere and Walcott came on as the half wore on and the former did well while the latter missed two great chances. The first was more difficult as he could only get a toe to Bellerin’s low, deflected cross, but the second was a sitter. Ramsey chipped a ball to Alexis who forced a good stop from Fabianski, but Walcott’s follow up effort was weak when he probably should have put his foot through it. A glorious chance and a miss that proved very costly.

Swansea broke down the right and after the first cross missed everyone, Montero floated in a second that was met by Gomis. The header lacked power and seemed easy enough to deal with, but somehow Ospina let it creep over the line before he pushed it out. After a few seconds, the goal-line technology delivered the bad news and Swansea had stolen the points. With five minutes left, we were unable to create any chances to equalise and with the stadium having practically emptied after the goal, the players trudged off with their heads bowed.

It feels churlish to moan about the team after such a fantastic run of form. But Swansea at home should be a routine home win, at the very least a point. I’m not entirely sure where the loss leaves us, whether Wenger is right and it was merely a frustrating off day or whether it points to a weakness that still remains in this Arsenal side. It’s also irritating in the light that it now makes it a lot more difficult for us to finish second and we could even slip all the way down to fourth if we don’t win our remaining home games.

For now, I think the team deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt, after all, Champions League football has been secured with four games to spare and we’ve reached the cup final again. But there are still issues to sort in the summer, such as our goalkeeping situation and whether we have the midfield solidity and striking quality to challenge for the title. Arsene himself has stated he is now in ‘the delivery phase’ of the long term plan around the stadium move. He’ll have two years left on what many believe will be his final Arsenal contract and next season will be a big indicator as to just what he can expect to deliver in that time.

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin (Wilshere 67’), Cazorla, Alexis, Özil, Ramsey, Giroud (Walcott 69’)
Subs
Szczesny, Gibbs, Flamini, Rosicky, Wilshere, Walcott, Gabriel

Swansea (4-6-0)
Fabianski, Rangel (Richards 60’), Williams, Fernandez, Taylor, Ki (Gomis 74’), Cork, Shelvey, Montero, Dyer (Barrow 79’), Sigurdsson
Subs
Tremmel, Richards, Britton, Emnes, Grimes, Barrow, Gomis

Player Ratings

Ospina - 4/10 - Really should have saved their goal
Bellerin - 6/10 - Beaten by Montero for their goal, ok otherwise
Mertesacker - 6/10 - A fairly uneventful evening
Koscielny - 5/10 - Got caught underneath the ball for their goal and it cost us
Monreal - 7/10 - Got forward and actually looked like making things happen in the 2nd half
Coquelin - 6/10 - Hardly needed
Cazorla - 6/10 - Had a number of shots blocked and his passing wasn’t at its best
Alexis - 6/10 - Maybe should have scored before Walcott missed
Özil - 6/10 - Created lots of half chances, but none really clear cut
Ramsey - 5/10 - Struggled out wide, we lacked width as he drifted further in field
Giroud - 6/10 - Under utilised, ended up coming far to deep to receive possession
Subs
Wilshere - 7/10 - Looked bright and hungry, like someone playing for their future
Walcott - 5/10 - Missed a sitter and offers little as the sole striker, his future is in doubt

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