Goals: Arsenal: Kolasinac (51), Ramsey (58). Swansea: Clucas (22)
Man of the Match/Goat of the Game: Sead Kolasinac thumped home the equalizer and then assisted on the winning goal. It was a massive match from a key player we’ll need next week.
Referee Rating: Lee Mason 5. An average performance without any controversy.
Manager Rating: Wenger 7. Wenger obviously said the right things at halftime as the team were a lot better than they were in the first half.
Arsenal performance: A strong second half, filled with quicker passing and sharper movement allowed the Gunners to overtake the Swans. Swansea had largely succeeded in the first half of shutting the Gunners down and limiting their opportunities, however all that changed in the second half. Defensively, Arsenal were a little dodgy in the first half, but looked more assured in the second half, despite only having a one goal lead.
Conclusion: Again Arsenal had to come from behind, something they need to avoid having to do. Next weekend they have Manchester City to deal with, a match with big implications for Arsenal’s season. They will need to be sharp and focused and their defensive effort needs to be better, much better.
Player Ratings:
Cech 5: Petr should’ve done better on the goal. Perhaps he should’ve stayed in goal and forced Clucas to shoot from a tight angle. He definitely will not be happy that Clucas was able to roll the ball between his legs. He did well to smother Ayew just before halftime, but after that he was rarely troubled.
Koscielny 6: His mistakes created the opening goal, losing the ball and then falling down. He had an excellent chance to equalize, but failed to make head home into a gaping goal. In fact, he didn’t make decent contact at all.
Mertesacker 6: He made a big intervention on Abraham in the first half, but just before halftime Ayew stole the ball from him and almost scored. Per was generally better in the second half.
Monreal 7: He was Arsenal’s best defender on the day. He switched to wing back after Kolasinac left the field.
Bellerin 7: He had a few moments worth remembering. He had a shot which glanced against the crossbar. He smashed a cross along the face of the goal which Lacazette was unable to reach. However, Arsenal tended to attack on the opposite flank as Clucas kept Bellerin under wraps.
Xhaka 7: He had moments where his passing was sublime and others where he was sloppy and unable to make a pass to someone’s feet. The team functions so much better when he is on song.
Ramsey 8: A good all round game for Aaron, who ended up scoring the winner, although Fabianski should’ve made the save.
Kolasinac 9: Man of the match, although he did make a sloppy pass or two. His combination play with Alexis is getting better all the time and he makes himself a nuisance in the box for opponents. His equalizer was a powerful drive, almost identical to the goal he scored against Cologne. His assist came from a fine cross field pass from Xhaka. Unfortunately, he left the field limping.
Ozil 7: Swansea’s crowded defence thwarted Ozil for much of the match. He was involved in the buildup for the first goal, but a deflection means he won’t get an assist.
Lacazette 6: He had a chance similar to last week’s at Everton, a pivot and a shot, this time not too strong and at the keeper. He came close several times … a diving header attempt at Bellerin’s too strong cross, an attempt to get to an Ozil flick .. all for naught. He looked annoyed to come off.
Sanchez 8: He took several speculative shots at goal in the first half until he combined with Kolasinac to force Fabianski to make a great save. In the second half he floated a great free-kick, which Koscielny flubbed. He continues to terrorize defences, even packed defences.
Substitutes:
Holding n/a: Replaced Kolasinac. He had one awkward moment, but was steady the rest of the time.
Giroud n/a: He came on and had one half chance, one decent chance which he hit wide, and one fast break chance which he squandered when he left the ball for someone else.