Match Preview, Arsenal v Swansea City: What Matters

When I started writing about Arsenal five years ago, I thought I had something distinctive to say about the club. Having read and been inspired by several blogs for years, I believed I had identified a way to contribute something different to the discussion.

In particular, the business and management of the club, from its corporate strategy to its financial performance to its brand strategy to its management of its human capital, were aspects that I could shed some light on.

I’ve thought a lot and helped others think about such matters over the course of my career. Examining and synthesizing them for such an admirable enterprise as Arsenal Football Club seemed like a worthwhile undertaking.

Today, I’m not going to say that assessment was wrong – this is supposed to be a match preview, not a navel-gazey blog post. But too many of us are paying attention to the business and management of the club at the expense of the actual sporting endeavor.

This week provides an excellent example. Instead of relishing the emergence of Eddie Nketiah, the 18-year-old savior of Arsenal’s Carabao Cup run, the story turned to the conduct of the Annual General Meeting of Arsenal Shareholders. Which, capitalism being what it is, meant absolutely nothing.

What will mean something is the Gunners’ next Premier League match, against Swansea City at Emirates Stadium.

May I suggest, though, that this meaning has little to do with Arsenal’s prospects for the near term, as the team tries to establish consistent performance before some challenging November fixtures? Or with its ultimate position in the 2017-18 Premier League table? Or with the futures of star men Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil? Or with the collective desire of 14 professional athletes who would never have reached the pinnacle of their profession without desire?

Those will doubtless be storylines peddled by paid and amateur analysts during and after the match. And they will largely miss the point of sport.

To me, an observer who's ruminated on the bigger picture for some time, the point now is the enjoyment of sublime athleticism, the appreciation of genius, the surprise at the unexpected. The minute developments or actions that I have never seen before and will likely never see again.

If you view the story through that composite lens, you’ll avoid the jaded, hackneyed, “same old Arsenal” perspective that seems to drive some people near insanity.

You also might appreciate the speed and guile of the Gunners’ attackers against a Swansea defense set up to stymie them, the subtle orchestration of midfielders Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey, the dynamism of wingbacks Sead Kolasinac and Hector Bellerin, and the timely aggressiveness and attention to transition of the team’s defenders and goalkeeper.

Trends to Watch

See above, in particular the timing of Ramsey’s runs to join the attack. Last weekend against Everton, the Welshman synchronized his moves almost perfectly with those of Özil, Alexis, and Alexandre Lacazette. Swansea may be more diligent opponents, but the interactions of Arsenal’s four attackers can be unstoppable.

How the Match Plays Out

This was not a straightforward affair last season, owing primarily to the unjustified dismissal of Xhaka. I expect him to avoid such a fate on Saturday and to dictate the play from the base of Arsenal’s midfield. Farther forward, the Swans may be more resolute than Everton was. Still, I don’t see them resisting the athleticism, skill, and synchronicity of Arsenal’s attack.

Players to Watch

Arsenal. Mesut Özil. After his display at Everton, the German playmaker looks primed to dominate matches with his skill and vision. As Swansea set up to thwart him, he’ll need to move and think just as quickly.

Bournemouth. Lucasz Fabianski. The former Arsenal man between Swansea’s sticks has a worldy in him; he also has a clanger. He’ll be busy.

Swansea City 0 Arsenal 3: Three Things We Learned

Arsenal emerged 3-0 winners over Swansea City in a match suitably bizarre for the day.

Although the Gunners looked out of it for most of the first half, second-half goals from Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny, and Joel Campbell secured the victory. Koscielny's goal, prompted by a borderline foul on/error by Swans and former Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, and the score by Campbell in his first Premier League start were oddly fitting on Halloween.

Here are three things we learned from the match.

Mesut Özil is the Premier League's most dangerous man

We're still early in the Premier League campaign, but it's becoming clear that Arsenal's playmaker and record signing can push the Gunners to contend for the title. In the 10 matches Özil has played, he's tallied nine assists and created 47 chances, according to Squawka.

As 7AM Kickoff has pointed out in his "By the Numbers" articles for Arseblog, Özil has a real chance to deliver more than 20 assists this season. He's on an unreal pace of 0.96 assists per 90 minutes so far.

He picked up two more assists on Saturday, finding Giroud with a corner in the 49th minute, then working an intricate move with Alexis Sanchez on the left before fizzing a pass across the box to Campbell for the final Arsenal goal.

Özil also started the sequence that led to Koscielny's goal. When no Swansea player closed him down on Arsenal's right, he spotted the chaos in the Swansea penalty area and sent in the cross that Ashley Williams failed to clear properly. Fabianski, Giroud, and Koscielny were all waiting for the ball to come down, and Koscielny came away with it.

At the source of all these passages were Özil's ability to recognize the way to cause Swansea the most danger and the skill to execute the decisive play. It's a deadly combination.

Joel Campbell keeps the balance

A major question leading up to the match addressed the right attacking midfield position in Arsenal's 4-2-3-1 formation. With six more likely candidates for that role injured, manager Arsène Wenger gave a league debut to Campbell, who, despite some credible performances on loan and on international duty, had never shown he could reach the level required at Arsenal.

Campbell's calm finish, if not his celebration, certainly showed he belonged, but more than that, he slotted seamlessly into the existing Arsenal framework.

The Costa Rican helped move the attack forward, exchanging tidy passes with right back Hector Bellerin and the central midfielders. With Swansea understandably focusing on the threat Alexis posed on Arsenal's left, Campbell proved willing to take a shot when he had a sight of goal.

He also hustled to reach the right defensive positions. That was especially important due to the danger posed by the tricky Swansea winger Jefferson Montero. Although Montero caused a few nervous moments, Bellerin and Campbell managed the threat admirably.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Arsenal team could proceed as normal. In light of the successful recent performances, allowing his teammates to stick to their roles and strengths was Campbell's most important contribution.

Arsenal can survive risks and wobbles

This was as shaky a 3-0 victory as you're likely to see.

Particularly in the first half, Arsenal seemed vulnerable. The choice to use a high defensive line seemed overly risky given Montero's wiliness, the ability of Jonjo Shelvy and Ki Sung-Yeung to pick a pass, and the Gunners' struggles against Swansea last season.

The high line nearly proved calamitous midway through the first half, when Shelvy found Bafetimi Gomis and sent the striker clean through on Petr Cech's goal. Only the experience of Cech and the speed of Bellerin prevented Arsenal from going 1-0 down.

Giroud's goal early in the second half steadied things somewhat, but, even then, Arsenal made some odd choices. The defense was less coordinated and diligent than you'd expect from a team looking to protect a lead and counterattack. A few times Swansea players found space just outside the Arsenal area and took a crack at goal or nearly worked a teammate free.

Still, Swansea managed just eight shots on goal and only two in the penalty area. When the three Swans' shots did work Cech, he was more than ready.

The sixth clean sheet in 11 league matches--and the lowest number of goals conceded in the league--are evidence of the stability Cech has brought to the Arsenal defense.

Extra time

Hector Bellerin doesn't just have a future; he has a present. As one-half of the league's best fullback tandem, the young Spaniard has brought quick interventions, sound positioning, and a real offensive threat to Arsenal's right side.

Against Swansea, he figuratively busted a gut to prevent Gomis from scoring and later literally busted one, throwing himself into the post to clear André Ayew's offside effort off the line.

Bellerin's contributions already and his clear talent warrant a long-term contract.

Match Preview, Swansea City v Arsenal: Beware the Welsh Bogeyman

A Halloween trip to South Wales should be a scary enough prospect for Arsenal.

Swansea City have sent shivers down Gunners’ spines under current Swans boss Garry Monk, who took over in February 2014. Monk has an undefeated record against Arsenal, having won both league encounters last season and drawn the match at the Emirates in March 2014.

That recent record is just one ominous sign for the fraidy-cats among Arsenal supporters. They’re also trepidacious about the prospect of fielding an ill-equipped attacker on the right side due to the injuries of six first-team players capable of playing that position. With Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, and Tomas Rosicky all out, manager Arsène Wenger has hinted that he’ll choose between Joel Campbell and Alex Iwobi.

The thinking here is that Campbell will get the nod. The Costa Rican international has at least some pedigree at the senior level and the defensive experience to help right back Hector Bellerin cope with Swansea’s tricky winger Jefferson Montero.

Although Swansea’s recent success against Arsenal and the instability at one position figure prominently in the pre-match horror stories, the prospects might not be that frightening after all. That’s because Swansea have struggled to create a consistent offensive threat.

Yes, the Swans famously came from a goal down to beat Manchester United in late August. But since then, they’ve won just one of six league matches. In that stretch, they’ve been held scoreless by Stoke, Everton, and Watford.

As Adrian Clarke noted in this week’s Official Arsenal Weekly podcast, Stoke stifled Swansea by funneling their hosts’ attacks to the center of the pitch. From there, the Swans could not generate anything incisive. They put just two shots on target of the 14 they attempted.

Swansea’s inefficiency grew out of the source of their shots: nine of the 14 came from outside the penalty area. That’s consistent with the team’s choices and production throughout this league campaign, during which they’ve taken 67 of 131 shots (51 percent) from outside the area. Only Watford has tried a higher proportion of shots from that inefficient part of the pitch. (Stats from whoscored.com)

Given the provenance of these attempts on goal, it’s perhaps not surprising that Swansea have scored just nine non-penalty goals on their own. Two penalties and an own goal take the total to 12.

By contrast, Arsenal have netted 16 goals, none from penalties and two from opposition own goals. The secret has been a heightened focus on shooting from dangerous areas: According to Squawka, the Gunners’ 142 shots from within the penalty area (of 197 total shots) lead the league and are 27 percent higher than shots from similar positions by Manchester City, which ranks second.

This set of statistics shows how Arsenal can survive a visit to the Liberty Stadium—maintain defensive discipline, force Swansea’s dangerous wide attackers André Ayew and Montero into the middle, and continue to take high-quality shots on goal.

Players to Watch

Arsenal: Francis Coquelin. If Arsenal succeed at directing Swansea’s attack to the center of the pitch, Coquelin will be the player to stop the moves and start Arsenal’s offense. His distribution has improved greatly this season (see 7AM Kickoff), so that the creative geniuses of Mesut Özil and Santi Cazorla have been able to shine.

Swansea City: Ki Sung-yueng. Ayew is the Swans’ top goal scorer, but the Korean midfielder seems the side’s most influential player. He adds control, energy, and the right passing choices to the mix and will be crucial to the contest in the midfield.