Kevin Whitcher
With Kevin grabbing a few days away in Spain, he wasn’t sure whether he’d catch the Swansea game on TV, so asked me if I’d step into his online editor’s shoes for the weekend.
Before the game, I felt it was vital to bring three points back from Wales if we were to retain hopes of finishing in the top four and hoped we could take advantage of a Swansea side who I thought might be resting on their laurels after their League Cup victory. I’m therefore a happy man this morning as we got the job done in what I felt was a fairly convincing manner even though the victory was in doubt until the second goal arrived in injury time.
Fabianski started his first Premier League match for over two years after impressing in Germany during the week and although he didn’t have a great deal to do, there seemed to be a calmness in his performance which was good to see. I think most fans agree that Szczesny would have benefitted from competition for his place over the last season or two and whilst I very much doubt whether Fabianski will provide that in the long term, it shouldn’t do either of our Poles any harm between now and the end of the season.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had one of his better performances and struck the bar twice during the first half, once after he beat his full-back out wide and cut in, and then with a long range effort just before the break. His willingness to take people on is always exciting to watch and one which others in the side could perhaps learn from. Yes Theo, I mean you!
We did have a couple of scares in the first quarter of an hour when the home side might have taken the lead, but thankfully Rangel Angel angles were off when he got in behind Monreal and then Michu screwed the ball just wide after Carl Jenkinson carelessly gave the ball away.
After that, I thought we controlled proceedings with Santi at the heart of everything. Whilst he’s always a joy to watch, the end product has been a bit hit-and-miss for the last few months, but hopefully in Jack’s absence he can rediscover his early season form as without him, I’m not sure where our creativity would come from.
Unsurprisingly, it was a run and cross by Santi in the 73rd minute which led to our first goal. As the ball came in from the left, we had two men over at the far post, but Giroud intercepted it before it reached them and then just managed to get a toe-end to lay it back to Monreal who took a touch before hitting a shot which bobbled and/or deflected into the far corner.
With memories of the FA Cup game here in January – not to mention the numerous other occasions when we’ve thrown away leads late on in games – I was fully expecting some nervous moments in the closing stages, but they never really materialised. The closest Swansea got was when De Guzman hit a free-kick into the side netting after Arteta had fouled Hernandez.
We had an article on the site earlier in the week pushing the claims of Michael Laudrup as a potential successor to Arsene Wenger, but for those who criticise our manager for not reacting to events on the pitch during games, perhaps they should consider what Laudrup did yesterday as his side failed to produce the sort of performance which has earnt them so many plaudits (not to mention a trophy) this season.
In the 91st minute, two of our substitutes combined to wrap up the points. Ramsey got away down the right and crossed to an unmarked Gervinho, who kept his head and slotted it past Vorm. Ramsey, who is even less popular in this part of the world than he is with some Arsenal fans, took particular delight in celebrating the goal by suggesting the home fans keep quiet!
There can’t have been many people predicting consecutive 2-0 away wins this week, so whilst I’m sure there will be some who manage to find fault, I’d prefer to take encouragement from two very competent performances and hope Fulham (and maybe West Ham) can do us a favour later on today.
Given that these two results should have boosted our confidence, it’s unfortunate that we now head into a two week international break as momentum will be all important in the closing weeks of the season. Our first game after the break will be at home to Reading which does present the perfect opportunity to keep the run going, so it’s to be hoped that all our players return from international duty in good health.
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