Arsenal claimed their sixth consecutive win in the Premier League with a 3-2 defeat of Swansea at the Emirates.
Theo Walcott continued his fine form with another brace for the Gunners. A mistake from Xhaka which led to a Sigurdsson goal got Swansea back in the game but it looked like Mesut Ozil had sealed all 3 points for Wenger’s side when he latched on to a cross from Sanchez to volley home in the 57th minute. That was not quite the case however as Borja pulled another one back for the Swans. Xhaka was then sent off for a cynical tackle which left Arsenal clinging on for dear life.
They managed to survive a spell of pressure from the visitors though to hold on for the win which moves them joint top with Manchester City.
Take a look at how the players from each side fared:
Arsenal
Petr Cech: 6/10
The Arsenal keeper did not have much to do in goal until the final 10 minutes. Even at that stage, he was hardly tested at all as the Swansea strikes were mostly off target or straight into his hands. He was, however, a commanding presence from corners and had a relatively decent game in the end.
Hector Bellerin: 6/10
Bellerin had one of his quieter games in an Arsenal shirt tonight. He was bright in the early stages of the game and linked up well with Walcott on the right. His final delivery was poor by his standards, though. Defensively he was solid and prevented Cork and Amat from generating attacks from the left-hand side for the most part.
Shkodran Mustafi: 5/10
The German international had a great chance to get on the scoresheet in the first half but his header struck the crossbar. Mustafi had an extremely good first half where he made a number of key challenges to break up the Swansea attacks. In the second half, though, his performance was questionable. Caught out of position on a number of occasions, he was lucky that Swansea did not get an equaliser in the end.
Laurent Koscielny: 7.5/10
Koscielny again showed why he is so highly rated in the league. The Frenchman had Barrow in his pocket for the entire first half and most of the second. A number of critical challenges, notably on Barrow in the first half and Ki in the second half ensured that Swansea could not get an equaliser. With 4 interceptions and 6 clearances on the night, Koscielny was easily Arsenal’s best defender.
Nacho Monreal: 4/10
Monreal had a poor game tonight on both ends of the pitch. In the offensive third, his link up with Alexis and Ozil was not great and left a lot to be desired. Defensively, after Barrow switched to the right, he was completely clueless as to how to deal with the Swansea attacker’s pace. He was often shredded by the winger and had no answer. The Spaniard was at fault for Swansea’s second goal.
Granit Xhaka: 3/10
Xhaka had possibly his worst game for Arsenal tonight. A number of sloppy passes in the first half probably lowered his confidence a bit. Add to that his mistake which led to the Swansea goal and it is no wonder why he gets a 3 rating. His second half performance was even worse and he was ultimately sent off for a poor challenge on Barrow. Not a great day in the office for the Swiss international.
Santi Cazorla: 7/10
Santi controlled proceedings from the center for the Gunners as always. His 57 passes were second only to Ozil. The Spaniard often got his side out of trouble with his quick feet and exquisite dribbling ability. With 77 touches on the ball, the Spaniard was involved in most of the good that Arsenal did on the night.
Mesut Ozil: 7.5/10
The midfield maestro was involved in most of Arsenal’s attacks and had a fine game tonight. His passing was exquisite as usual and he also managed to get on the scoresheet courtesy a fine left-footed volley in the second half. The German played a number of key passes in behind the Swans defense and was unlucky with a couple of offside calls that went against him. Ozil played a total of 5 key passes, the highest by any player in the game.
Theo Walcott: 8/10
Theo was at his best in the first half and scored both of Arsenal's goals. Both his goals were made possible only by his positioning and that is something he has improved upon this season. Walcott could've had a hattrick in the end but missed a couple of sitters late in the second half. Ultimately though he was Arsenal's best player on the night.
Alex Iwobi: 7/10
Iwobi blew hot and cold for most of the game. He started the game extremely brightly driving at the heart of Swansea's defense but his final ball often let him down. The highlight of his game would have to be the jinking run he made in the second half which saw him drive past 2 Swansea defenders before nutmegging a third. Although nothing came of it in the end, the Nigerian showed why he is rated so highly at Arsenal. The 20-year-old had a passing accuracy of 94%, by far the best on the night.
Alexis Sanchez: 7/10
The Chilean continues to impress game in game out. His work rate was tremendous as always and it was his magnificent pass over the Swansea defense that found Ozil for Arsenal’s third. Although his passing was slightly off tonight, his desire to win the ball back after he lost it more than made up for his mistakes.
Substitutes:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6/10
The speedy winger was brought on in the dying stages of the game and his pace proved to be too much for a tiring Swansea defense. The Englishman could've had an assist to his name but Walcott spurned a golden opportunity in stoppage time. Overall, a great performance after coming on by the 23-year-old.
Kieran Gibbs: 5/10
Gibbs was brought on to provide Monreal with some support on the left and he did his job well in the end. With just 7 minutes to play when he replaced Ozil, Gibbs was solid at the back and prevented Rangel and Ki from causing any damage.
Francis Coquelin: 5/10
Coquelin replaced Iwobi with 20 odd minutes to go and helped shield the defense effectively. The Frenchman made 4 tackles which was the highest by an Arsenal player in just 27 minutes that he was on the field, showing why he is now a regular starter for the side.
Swansea
Lukasz Fabianski: 5/10
The former Arsenal keeper did not really have much to do in the game. The Pole really could do nothing about any of the Arsenal goals. He did, however, make a couple of errors while dealing with Arsenal’s balls over the top where he often hesitated and ended up out of position. Ultimately, he was not decisive enough and although it did not matter tonight, it is something which new manager Bradley must address in the future.
Jordi Amat: 4/10
Amat was dreadful tonight. Along with Fernandez, the duo had no answers for the Arsenal attackers and were often out of position or simply outplayed. Amat was at fault for the opening goal when he let Walcott nip in from behind him to tap into the net. His distribution was not the greatest and his long balls forward often found an Arsenal shirt instead of a teammate’s.
Neil Taylor: 5/10
Taylor did not really affect the game offensively simply due to the fact that he was forced to spend almost the entire game helping out in defense. The left back did, however, deal pretty well with Bellerin and Walcott in the end.
Federico Fernandez: 4/10
Fernandez, like Amat, was awful at the back. His distribution was especially poor and he misplaced a number of easy passes in the first half which led to Arsenal attacks. The Argentine was easily beaten on a number of occasions by Sanchez and co and really did not have any understanding with his center back partner.
Kyle Naughton: 5.5/10
Naughton was probably the only one in Swansea’s backline that knew how to defend. The right back dealt with Monreal with ease and was solid for most of the game. He did make a few sloppy passes here and there that led to Arsenal attacks but ultimately, the 27-year old had a decent game.
Leroy Fer: 5/10
Fer did not influence proceedings in the first half but got more involved as the game progressed. The 26-year old had a golden opportunity late on to get Swansea level but his shot flew way over the crossbar.
Jack Cork: 5/10
Invisible for most of the game, Cork was withdrawn in the 70th minute as Bob Bradley searched for an equaliser. The 27-year-old looked sluggish for the most part and was not his usual hard tackling self in the midfield.
Leon Britton: 4/10
Britton was a shadow of his usual self and struggled to impact the game both offensively and defensively tonight. With just 2 tackles made in the entire game, Swansea needed a leader in the midfield and he certainly was not one. Britton was withdrawn at the hour mark after which the Swans looked much more threatening.
Wayne Routledge: 5/10
Routledge was unable to showcase any of his speed or creativity tonight and had a rather subdued outing. His range of passing was limited to sideways and backward passes and he succeeded in making just 1 key pass in the entire game. For most of the match, he was chasing Ozil and Cazorla's shadows as he looked to try and help out at the back.
Gylfi Sigurdsson: 7/10
Sigurdsson’s fantastic finish in the first half got Swansea back in the game. The Icelandic midfielder was one of Swansea’s brightest players on the night and he could've easily had a second in the dying minutes of the game. His delivery from corners and free kicks was near perfect and caused the Arsenal defense all sorts of problems.
Modou Barrow: 7/10
Barrow struggled to get in the game in the first half but after Borja’s arrival, he was moved onto the right flank where he absolutely destroyed Monreal. Blitzing past the defender on a number of occasions, Barrow created a number of chances for Swansea which they could not take. His final delivery was fantastic and his pace caused even Koscielny problems.
Substitutes
Borja Baston: 6/10
Swansea’s new signing, Borja proved to be more than a handful for the Arsenal defenders. Coming on in the 60th minute, the Spaniard got on the scoresheet immediately with a well-taken goal to give Swansea a lifeline. It took both Mustafi and Koscielny to deal with him at times and fans will be wondering why he didn't start in the first place.
Ki Sung-Yeung: 4/10
Ki was brought on with 20 minutes to go as the Welsh side searched for an equaliser but the 27-year-old offered nothing in the end. Despite making a couple of intelligent runs in behind the defense, his final ball was lacking and easily defended in the end.
Angel Rangel: NA
