Arsenal vs Swansea – FA Cup Preview

Arsenal find themselves in the middle of the sandwich week which didn’t start on the brightest of notes. The loss to Manchester  City on  Sunday reeked of plummeting morale and a sorry state of affairs. The injury to Mikel Arteta, which rules him out of contention for at least three weeks, is a huge blow for Arsene Wenger, as the void in the center just keeps getting bigger.

The FA Cup tie with Swansea City was nothing short of a cracker, and the four goals were all well-deserved, with the blinder by the young Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs at the top. But leading by a goal was never Arsenal’s forte, if you discount the time under George Graham that is, when ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ was staple.

Swansea looked dangerous and the equaliser by Danny Graham forced the replay, even when Arsenal threatened to implode at many occasions. Here’s what to expect from the replay at the Emirates.

Goal wars?

This could be the drab nil-nil heading to penalties, or it could be a scorcher. The latter is certainly more likely, given the firepower on display. Swansea’s Graham could find the net ahead of Michu, having already scored 4 out of the last 5, including in the encounter with Chelsea. Michu too looks in fine form to outpace the Arsenal back four. Mertesacker in particular, is a weak link in terms of pace, which Michu seems to have plenty of. Even Routledge could pose danger if Graham gets the day off.

Arsenal, although in turmoil, will look to score early and should start with Lucas Podolski and Theo Walcott. Walcott may not have put pen to paper just yet, but the increasingly obvious starts up front may be a means to an end.  Both teams look heavy in attack, and that is one fact that won’t go down well with the home side.

The Middle Men

The midfield is clearly Arsenal’s strength and they will most certainly outplay Swansea in this department. Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain and Santi Cazorla are a handful, and Arteta may not be missed, just yet. Ramsey, however, is the player who falls at the bottom of the midfield pyramid, and not without reason. Consistency is a concern, so is his first touch. Swansea depend on Dyer, Routledge and De Guzman to hold the fort. Their primary job is to ensure the ball doesn’t stay too long in their own half, and is constantly moving towards the strikers. That said, Swansea have played much better than Arsenal of late, even sweeter on occasions. Will Wenger’s men sit up and take the bull by the horns is still to be seen.

Defence

Again, Arsenal will field either the slow or the inexperienced at the back, with the exception of Thomas Vermaelen. Jenkinson will replace Sagna, a feat yet to be satisfactorily completed, given the impending move in the summer. Gibbs played his part wonderfully in the initial match and should be able to deliver once again. Szczesny too has been in decent form, but Swansea will not hold back.

Lead by Vorm, the Swansea back four can only be thwarted by a pacy counter, which Walcott will be needed to bring to the table. Rangel and Williams in addition to Chico need to cut down on the quick passing of the opposition to stifle them completely. Arsenal are known to get frustrated easily and Swansea can clearly take the upper hand. Crosses should not be a concern until Olivier Giroud comes on around the 60th minute, which might just be too late.