Kevin Whitcher
Arsenal put the midweek horrorshow in Sheffield behind them quickly to leave Swansea with a nightmare on October 31st. And in the process strengthen arguments for the view of the team as credible title contenders rather than pretenders.
A long injury list meant that Joel Campbell finally made his Premier League debut for the club on the right side of attack. Strange to think that Arsenal signed the player the same summer Juan Mata joined Chelsea (reputedly because the Gunners were too focused on signing the Costa Rican).
The first half of this match lacked tempo, although both sides had genuinely excellent chances to open the scoring. A Gomis break as Mertesacker was left floundering on the halfway line was only prevented from being a goal thanks to the pace and determination of Hector Bellerin, who showed that he is made of the right stuff with some of his defending, even if he struggled to contain Montero at times. At the other end, Giroud missed a gilt-edged chance after being set up by Alexis. The only other thing of note was that Campbell worked hard to cover Bellerin. Apart from that, as a certain Jose Mourinho said earlier, “I have nothing to say”.
Fortunately the second half had more talking points, not least three Arsenal goals. Giroud created space to get a free header from a corner to put his side ahead, and then Swansea threatened, with Cech needing to pull off a fine save from Sigurdsson and Bellerin injuring himself on the post with a clearance that from Ayew, who turned out to be offside.
Arsenal weathered the storm before a remarkable goal put them in the comfort zone. I was astonished that no foul was given for Fabianski in the Swansea goal as Koscielny appeared to back into him, with also a suspicion that Giroud tugged him across the midrift. Keepers are normally protected, but not today at the Liberty. Sure Fabianksi did his Flapianski routine, but on this occasion, I thought he probably was slightly impeded. Still, you need good fortune to win sometimes, and Arsenal’s luck was in today. Hell, even Joel Campbell scored to put the icing on the cake.
It was a game of key moments, more even than the 3-0 scoreline suggests, the difference being that Arsenal took their chances. When Montero, the scourge of last season was removed, it symbolized the game was up. I watched the match on a stream and when Leon Brittan came on as a sub, the commentator informed us that he had been sold by Arsenal to West Ham as a 16 year old for £400,000. So that’s what the Academy is for.
The result was the kind of one that title winners achieve. Going away to a weaker side who fancy their chances and putting them in their place. The Gunners have lost more than once at the Liberty since the Swans’ were promoted to the top flight, and last season were beaten by them home and away. There were incidents yesterday that went their way – Mertesacker might have conceded a penalty, the aforementioned interventions by Bellerin and Cech, the second goal which killed the game – but on occasion, winning teams need the dice to roll their way. Good fortune should not be a stick to beat the team with, but it should at least be acknowledged. It’s fair to say Chelsea aren’t getting too much of that at times, but some might call that karma.
As for Arsene Wenger’s team, in spite of reservations about being two or three players short of what is required to actually win the title, the table does not lie. Equal on points with Manchester City, and none of the sides below them looking like convincing champions in the making.
Granted, we have been here before more than once since the stadium move. Is this another false dawn or will it prove to be the campaign we have been waiting for since 2004? Hope springs eternal? If you were a betting man, would your money be on Manchester City or Arsenal? I will admit that experience has made me believe that falling short is more likely than triumph, but sincerely hope I am wrong. Others have more faith, and I hope that is justified by events over the next six months. Come on you Gunners!
I am now on Twitter@KevinWhitcher01.
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