The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsArsenal travel to Swansea for their next Premier League fixture on Saturday. The Gunners were beaten 3-0 by Championship side Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup, so they will hoping to bounce back with a win to take all three points back to North London.
Unfortunately for Arsenal this will not be an easy game. Swansea managed to do the double over the Reds last season with a 2-1 win at home and a 1-0 win away, and will be looking to extend their winning run against Arsene Wenger’s side.
Both Alex Oxlade – Chamberlain and Theo Walcott will be unavailable after picking up injuries midweek which gives Arsene Wenger a dilemma when selecting his starting 11. With Aaron Ramsey also out injured, the options on the right hand side are limited. Joel Campbell could be the man to step in for the absentees, although his recent performances haven’t been promising.
Swansea will look to take advantage of this weakened Arsenal side. The likes of Gomis, Ayew and Montero have been fantastic this season, and all pose a goal scoring threat. It was Gomis who scored the winning goal at the Emirates last season and has made a very good start to this season scoring four goals. However the French striker has now gone six league games without a goal, can he end his drought against the Gunners?
Just like Gomis, Swansea started the season well but have dropped off in recent games. They currently sit 12th in the table on 13 points and will be looking to build on their 2-1 away victory against Aston Villa. Another man that deserves a mention is Andre Ayew. The midfielder has scored five goals in ten appearances in the Premier League for the Swans, which are unbelievable stats for a player who cost absolutely nothing!
Arsenal also have their fair share of attacking talent. Alexis Sanchez will be looking to add to his six goals in the Premier League, whilst Olivier Giroud will be looking to add to his goal tally after scoring against Everton last weekend. These two will be crucial for Arsenal with the likes of Ramsey, Walcott and Chamberlain all out injured. Arsenal will miss the pace of Walcott through the middle which may have suited this game more than Giroud’s hold up play. However the French striker has scored six goals in all competitions, four of which coming from the bench. Can he continue his goal scoring form?
This game is guaranteed to be an entertaining watch. Both sides love to get numbers forward when attacking and both are known for their attractive style of play. Both sides are also known for dominating possession, so it will be interesting to see who has more of the ball when the teams go head to head at the Liberty Stadium.
Who will come out on top? Will it be the experience of Arsenal Wenger? Or will the young Garry Monk get the better of the Frenchman once again?
Predicted starting line ups:
Swansea:
Fabianski, Naughton, Williams, Fernandez, Taylor, Ki, Shelvey, Ayew, Sigurdsson, Montero, Gomis
Arsenal:
Cech, Bellerin, Koscienly, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Campbell, Ozil, Alexis, Giroud
