When I saw the pictures of the Arsenal training in wintry snow ahead of today’s trip to Swansea I confess to harbouring a certain sympathy for them. As my Scottish uncle used to say to me that snell wind makes everone fair jeelit. The sympathy has evaporated this morning as I sit in my frozen writing shed stabbing with numb fingers at my frost hardened Smith-Corona. But on I plough.
It wasn’t only compassion which moved in my breast at the sight of poor Danny Welbeck muffled in his muffler. I also felt a twang of envy. You see I rather like the town of Swansea and I was a little jealous of the players and fans who will get to visit today. I should imagine the beach at Rhossili will be a bit parky this weekend so I doubt a trip to the Gower is on the cards, but I do urge you to make a weekend of it if you are travelling and at least have a little tour.
Swansea City FC, we are told, has done much to put the ‘ugly, lovely town’ on the map. Since their ascendency to the higher reaches they’ve earned plaudits for playing the game as many of us like to see it played. A fashionable football team allied with a popular university can encourage an enlightened view of what had previously been regarded as a somewhat grim industrial setting.
Sadly the Swans have been struggling of late. I’ll leave you to decide whether the managerial merry go round in which they’ve indulged themselves has been cause or effect of this unwelcome downturn in their fortunes. Personally I think it is always a mistake in life to panic, to chop and change when things are going badly.
An unfashionable view in a footballing world where many seem to crave change simply for the sake of change itself. I can only assume that decades of consumer culture, of an economy built on endless growth, demands we throw away and replace at every opportunity. This is not the road to happiness, merely the endless dissatisfaction of the spoilt child given too much, too often.
So while I am grateful for any advantage to the team I support I am also saddened to see one of the few smaller clubs to actually beat us by coming and out playing football going through hard times. I believe the league is improved by keeping the good guys and losing the dross and not the other way around.
Improvement of the league isn’t the concern of most of you, I know this. All that matters is three points and that is of course your prerogative. Just as it is the prerogative of those who take a more holistic view to want to be part of a culture of excellence rather than a lowest common denominator tactical dirge, which, if given too much rope, will strangle the golden goose as audiences eventually tire and turn away.
So Swansea are all at sea and should be there for the taking. Surely an away win is such a guaranteed result that there is no point in even watching. Just go bung a tenner on us at the bookies and collect your one pence winnings at ten to five. Well perhaps. Perhaps if you’d never watched a season of football from start to finish. Maybe this is your reality. In my reality teams who are struggling need to be put to the sword a little before their fragile confidence is exposed.
Concede an unlucky goal such as that fortuitous, bobbling, pinball series of deflections which gifted Preston the lead the other day and that fragile confidence will cease to be a factor. A team in decline can still surprise you and we will need to be sharp and up to the scratch from the moment Mr Jones emits his primary peep.
What of the teams? Swansea will be without Neil Taylor after having his cheekbone broken in training on Wednesday. I don’t know much about the estimable Mr Taylor but as he played every minute of the Welsh teams heroic failure in the Euros I’m sure Kelly, our resident Cymru expert, can fill us in on the details. Losing a first choice international full back against an Arsenal team rightly famed for their fast, wide attacking game cannot be a good thing.
They will also be missing Jefferson Antonio Montero Vite who is one player and not four as you might think. He is a fast and dangerous wingers and one that the home team will surely miss. Talking of flyers we still see no sign of Theo nor of Hector and I am just beginning to worry that Theo’s small, irrelevant, only keeping him out as a precaution, niggle might be turning into something more significant. It is a mark of the quality in our squad that we can miss these two hugely important players and still approach any fixture with confidence.
Given Gabriel’s flawless understudy shift when Hector first joined the sick list and seeing just what a player Arsène signed in Lucas Perez I don’t think we need to be overly concerned. Of course we want our first choice players fit and healthy but Perez in particular excites me and so I’ll be happy to see him step up in Theo’s absence.
With Danny back and raring to go we have a superfluity of striking options which ought to make us blush. Sanchez and Giroud are in stunning scoring form, Mesut has also stepped up in front of goal this season and we all know the boy Iwobi can find the net when the fancy takes him. Add to that the goals Aaron can get us running from midfield and the Swansea defence ought to be in for a trying time this afternoon.
I shan’t be watching with you today as I have been thoroughly duped by my ever resourceful wife into attending what I’d assumed was an evening event but transpires to start at three and finish at seven thirty. That will teach me not to listen when I’m trying to concentrate on Doom Three Hell On Earth. Lesson learned. Press pause and get all of the details before saying yes to anything.
If you are lucky enough to be in beautiful South Wales today then wrap up warm and should you bump into me at Longleat’s Festival Of Lights don’t tell me the score, it wouldn’t enhance our friendship.
Positively Arsenal 
giroud is limping badly, might have to go off
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ox getting ready to come on for giroud.
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What a pass from Alexis!
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Giroud (& Cech) key in seeing off the early burst and gamble with the old energy reserves from the home team, he’ll be missed if he has to come off.
Great goal. Come on arsenal.
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did we get lucky or did the ref correctly see ki look to make contact with kos foot, and so no penalty and rightly booked.
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OMG!
Mike jones spares Xhaka, brave from all the official
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Think it was the right call but a tricky one, credit where it is due
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Jones is “fucking joke” eddy
Nuff said (banned gurning, toothless grin)
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final score clear up the penalty call, chris sutton says it was a clear penalty, so that means certainly no penalty.
Not sure but I think Sutton actually said arsehole got away with that, but it might just be his accent.
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@19SCazorla is one of the very few players in the PL whom I trust passing the ball across the face of goal with all due respect to Gabriel.
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I remember as a kid playing any type of competitive football the commandment: never pass across the face of the goal.
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Cor – that was 50/50 – fair play to the man in purple though
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well anicol I’m actually shocked that jones did not give the penalty, as from everything else he has done in this game it looked like he was trying to help swansea, how many times more will monreal get kicked before he books their players.
Arsenal were not great in the first half, cech made one great save, arsenal playing at a poor tempo, passing sloppy, and much of our problems self inflicted. In the last ten minutes of the half we started to create some attacking space and then the goal comes form the man of the moment, Giroud. Injured, ox was getting ready to come on, not sure if he did or not, or if we waited till half time to see how bad giroud injury is.
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the second angle they showed of the penalty call shows the ref was right, ki tried a james vardy, kos had taken his foot back, but ki still went looking for it and was on way down. Good job ki is one of those foreign looking guys.
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AFC leading scorers from open play in the PL so far this season – said the plundit.
He also called it a ‘swan dive’. Is there an eclipse going on?
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the angle from behind the goal shows the ref was right, ki made the contact, it was a clear bit of simulation
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If you permanently see the glass half-filled when watching the Arsenal, you will always miss the positive things we have been doing; keeping it tight, limiting their chances. Or Mike Jones has kept his cards in his pocket; that means the Swans are not going to get our players booked that easily. Swings and roundabouts.
Central midfield playing well so far, not great but sound.
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Arsenal need to play at a faster tempo in the second half, and cut out the careless stuff at the back.
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Giroud still there for the second half.
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Chris Wheatley @ChrisWheatley_ 23m23 minutes ago
Giroud has now scored 13 goals from his last 18 shots in all competitions.
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how many more fouls will naughton be allowed without a booking
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Right let’s get the comfort goal
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Shotts big 45, for Xhaka and everyone else too!
Smooth defending there from Mustafi, and AFC nearly finding Giroud again COYG
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alexis taking the wrong option a couple of times there when we were in great scoring positions
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fabianski saves from ramsey after a good ball in by alexis
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iwobiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
big big big deflection and it loops over fabianski
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Fins: Both Alexis and Iwobi are helping out in midfield.
Great pressure and the Swans finally break. Goal #2
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Fine save from Fabianski!
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The Hurricane just flattened Swansea
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gabriel just nutmegged routledge
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Lady Luck has been impressed with the recent form of the handsome Frenchman and smiles upon the Gunners.
Arsenal up the ante and the pressure finally tells. Perez, Welbeck & Chambo must be keen to get on, healthy competition
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60 minutes, giroud off, oxlade-chamberlain on.
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ox on the right, iwobi on the left and alexis up top
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Giroud still niggled, chamberlain gets the nod I wonder if he’ll swap flanks with Iwobi at some point?
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I think I have a little bit delay on my stream!
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Fins
What live stream are you using?
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Naughten starting to take the micky out of Mike
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Giroud hurt his ankle going for that chance before he scored. But there were thousands of blogs and tweets-in-waiting how he fluffed his lines.
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swansea after having a few shots on goal in the last five minutes or so
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Ox chosen for counter-attacking and to help Gabriel as well?
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GP
Footballstreamingsdotcom
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naughton gets his just deserves, og from an iwobi cross, 3-0
i see bbc giving the second goal as a cork og, they can fuck right off, if that was lampard they would not even suggest such a thing, in fact the would give him the 3rd as well.
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Kyle Naughton own goal. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer fellow. Been kicking Monreal all game.
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Heh Naughten heh
Iwobi with Monreal’s revenge
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need one more to put us above liverpool, level on points and gd at the moment.
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Team work!
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alexis makes it 4-0
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*waves at Herr Klopp
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Magnificent
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alexis needs another goal or assist to have either scored or assisted in 32 goals in his last 32 bpl games, it stands at 31 now. 21 goals and 10 assists
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