It was not vintage Arsenal in the first half, the Gunners only carving out one good chance, Giroud’s miss before halftime.
However they picked up their game in the second half and finally made the breakthrough, thanks to a goal from young Serge Gnabry.
Shortly after Aaron Ramsey scored yet again and sealed the victory, although Arsenal had to withstand a late Swansea rally after they scored in the last ten minutes.
Swansea are not the easiest of opponents and the victory shows that Arsenal are strong candidates for the title. What is exciting is that Arsenal have yet to hit their stride as several of their best players remain injured.
Szczesny 7. A good game from the Pole who only had to make one difficult save, but had to be sharp to gather crosses and control the area. One faux pas in the first half could have been disastrous and shows he still has a reckless side that needs to be suppressed.
Sagna 7. A routine day at the office for Sagna, who looked solid all day.
Mertesacker 6. Was largely effective in defence, although he was the one unable to react quickly enough to prevent the goal.
Koscielny 7. Laurent had a very strong game and never looked troubled at all.
Gibbs 7. He had a busy day trying to contain Kieran Dyer, but was generally not troubled.
Flamini 7. Another busy day at the office, but did not have to threaten to blind anyone this week.
Ramsey 8. My co-player of the match. He scored again, he assisted on the second goal, and had a strong second half.
Wilshere 6. A good outing, but he left too much space for Swansea to exploit on their right flank as he drifted inside. His tackle was key to Arsenal’s second goal.
Ozil 6. A good performance, but one senses that Mesut could have offered more and that he is still adjusting to the pace of the Premier League.
Gnabry 8. My co-player of the match. After the weak performance midweek, he bounced back in a big way. He took his goal well and was the only player who dribbled effectively and was able to penetrate the Swansea defence.
Giroud 6. Should have scored in the first half, but he still provided a good assist on Ramsey’s goal. Looked a little tired, but still worked hard.
Substitutes:
Arteta 5. Gave away too many free kicks late in the game.
Monreal n/a. Not on long enough to make an impact.
Jenkinson n/a. Came on in extra-time to kill time.