New Swansea manager Bob Bradley will sample his first taste of English football against Arsenal and hope to resolve his new club’s slump in form. Arsene Wenger meanwhile will be focusing on overcoming a side that has frequently troubled his team home and away and maintain Arsenal’s winning streak.
Current Form
Arsenal recovered from a stuttering league start to go on a five game winning streak and pushed themselves into 3rd place. An electric 3-0 win over Chelsea shocked many fans and pundits with recent form also suggesting Arsenal may have the maturity and confidence to succeed this season. A Laurent Koscielny handball gave the Gunners a controversial 1-0 win over Burnley before the international break, showing that luck might be on their side.
Bradley inherits a 17th placed Swansea team just a point above the relegation places and seeking a win to kick start their season. Swansea have only won once this season with an opening day 1-0 win also over Burnley. But they have endured a poor run of form balanced with a challenging run of fixtures. Their losses against Manchester City and Liverpool however showed glimpses of their quality, competitiveness and ability to match superior teams.
Team News
Wenger confirmed that Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud will miss Saturday’s fixture as they continue to return to full fitness. Lucas Perez may feature against the Welsh outfit, Francis Coquelin is available after recovering from a knee injury while Mesut Özil survived a fitness scare on international duty.
Jefferson Montero and Nathan Dyer will be absent with ankle injures for Swansea along with Fernando Llorente who nurses a rib injury. Central defender Federico Fernandez is likely to return after recovering from a groin strain.
Head to Head
The visitors have been a banana skin for Arsenal in recent years. Goals from Wayne Routledge and Ashley Williams gave Swansea a 2-1 away win in their last meeting in March 2016 which helped The Swans escape relegation but damaged Arsenal’s title pursuit. Arsenal’s last win over the Swans was a 3-0 away win last season and also their only win in their last four league meetings.
Prediction
Considering Arsenal’s ruthless winning streak and matched with Swansea’s indifferent league form, Arsenal look to be clear favourites. Their attacking intent, new signings integrating well and a new display of maturity means Arsenal are likely to gain maximum points on Saturday afternoon. Swansea may still trouble and frustrate the hosts to mirror recent history but it is difficult to see Bob Bradley gain a positive result on his Premier League managerial debut.
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