The first forty-five minutes were painful to watch. Arsenal produced little and barely managed to hold off a more dominant Swansea side.
Arsenal did produce one good chance in the first half, but Giroud smacked it wide when he had time to produce better.
Swansea had several chances as well, none better than Gomis being sent in alone, but he took his time and Hector Bellerin got back to make a brilliant challenge.
Arsenal took control early in the second half when Giroud headed home, courtesy of slack Ashley Williams defending (aren’t you glad we never purchased him now?).
Laurent Koscielny neatly tucked home the second after a poor challenge from Fabianski. He made a weak challenge on a high ball and perhaps took a bump from Giroud, spilling the ball to Koscielny.
The final goal came from a terrific counter attack where Ozil found Joel Campbell wide open and he buried his first ever goal for the Gunners. Arsenal bossed the game in the second half and stay tied on top of the league.
Player Ratings:
Cech 8: He made some excellent saves and he was strong in attacking crosses and commanding the area. He made fine saves off Sigurdsson and Montero, among others.
Bellerin 8: He had a tough time dealing with Montero, who managed to sneak a number of crosses in. However Hector made a terrific play on Gomis and did much the same in the second half, clearing a ball off the line and colliding with the post (although offside had already been blown). Great effort. This will further endear him to the fans.
Mertesacker 7: A good game and he was strong throughout. I did feel on a couple of occasions he didn’t close down a player who was about to shoot, leaving Cech to make not so easy saves.
Koscielny 8: Second straight game with a goal. He responded quickly and deftly poked the ball into the net. Defensively he was a rock.
Monreal 7: He had a couple of decent moments attacking, once he was almost played in on goal, but the pass was behind him. He had a good game defensively as well and for the most part he controlled Naughton.
Coquelin 7: He had a strong second half where he helped to control the midfield.
Cazorla 8: Ineffective in the first half, great in the second. His quick passes helped push the Gunners forward.
Ozil 8: My man of the match. Anonymous in the first half, but dominant in the second. He was involved in the first and third goals and he came close to setting up a number of other chances.
Campbell 7: Scored a fine goal on his full debut. He had several other chances, but didn’t hit them quite as well. He worked hard to get back and help defend.
Giroud 7: A good goal early in the second. Wasn’t quite as dominant as he was last week against Everton. Lucky not to have seriously injured his knee after a collision in the first half.
Sanchez 7: He looked tired and was a little sloppy with his control. Still he made a sensational pass to Giroud in the first half which he should have scored. In the second half he was a constant threat, but he couldn’t convert the chances he got.
Substitutes:
Gibbs n/a: Helped to add some defensive stability late in the game.
Chambers n/a: Managed some good touches on the ball near the end.
Iwobi n/a: His brief cameo saw him make his Premier League debut.