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Scoreline: Swansea City 3 - 1 Arsenal
Goalscorers: Nacho Monreal 33' Samuel Raymond Clucas 34' 86' Jordan Ayew 61'
As the weeks roll over, Swansea City look less and less deserving of belonging to the substratum of the Premier League table. In a game where they put the strain on Arsene Wenger's men right from the get-go, it was Arsenal that took the lead, against the run of play.
But Swansea returned the favour inside a minute after Clucas ghosted Xhaka and slotted home with his left. The Swans would then waste a couple of gilt-edged chances before Jordan Ayew took advantage of some chucklesome goalkeeping from Petr Cech who effectively gifted Carvalhal's men the lead.
Thereafter, the game was stretched and Arsenal tried to claw their way back into the game but nothing quite worked out. Finally, Clucas' clinical finish on the back of a spectacular Ayew run secured all 3 points for the hosts.
Here are the 5 talking points from the game:
#5 The Aubameyang injection will be more than welcome
Arsenal's one-touch tricky-flicky business is pleasing to the eye these days and not much else. While the Gunners looked well drilled in the passing sector, all the other checkboxes remained unacquainted with ink.
Mesut Ozil was being dealt with effectively up until the 33rd minute when he was afforded an inch of space and Ozil being Ozil, provided Monreal with a perfectly weighted lobbed ball into the area to caress into the back of the net.
But other than that, Arsenal hardly came up with anything to make a case for 3 points last night. Lacazette looked uninspired and with Wenger admitting that Giroud might just have played his last game for Arsenal, things are looking bleak upfront for the Gunners.
Aubameyang, if the reports are true, could very well be leading the line as early as next week, and Arsenal look like they could use that and then some.
#4 Ayew and Clucas could be the engineers of a great escape
The Swans are not keen on keeping it real for a team who were languishing at 20th on the Premier League table. Arsenal were backpedalling more than they would have expected to at the Liberty Stadium and that was largely down to Jordan Ayew and Clucas being absolute thorns in the flesh from the opening minute.
Though their decision making could use an upgrade, Swansea kept testing Arsenal and finally pressed Cech into a blunder which offered comic relief for the hosts and the neutral.
Ayew's movement was excellent and Clucas' finishing was first-rate. Ki was also involved in the proceedings as he put in a shift. When they found themselves in the company of Fer and Dyer, Swansea flourished.
But it was Ayew's performance which was the biggest positive for Swansea. And he could very well be the man who ushers them out of the relegation zone by orchestrating the great escape of the 2017/18 campaign.
#3 Arsenal really need a good goalkeeper
I've kept this bottled for a while but seriously, it's time to let the stench out. The former Chelsea no. 1 is way past his prime and he offers minimum resistance and particularly poor services. His howler took the game away from Arsenal-- not that they had much of a say anyway.
But such mistakes are unpardonable at this level and in tight games or even big games for that matter, it is the mistakes that count and make a difference. And in Petr Cech, the Gunners have someone who is as prone to error as a panda is to falling.
The wait for the record 200th cleansheet will go on and looks like it will be quite a while before the Czech international finally hits the milestone.
That being said, Arsene Wenger needs to sort out his priorities and bring a world-class talent between the sticks in the summer. Pay that money, sign someone up. Because we know Arsenal are in desperate need of one.
#2 The Carvalhal revival
While it might be too early to be using tags like revival, resurgence etc., Swansea City have just defeated Liverpool and Arsenal in the span of 2 weeks and are still in the FA Cup. Suddenly, a ray of light seems to have cracked a way through to the tunnel and the Swans are sprinting towards it for dear life.
While Carvalhal has not infused jaw-dropping swagger or a complex network to play within, the Swans look loaded with intent and their direct approach often caught Arsenal defenders flat-footed.
Swansea have not been active in the transfer market and their selling Roque Mesa has raised a few eyebrows (including mine), but they might yet find it within themselves to get out of this rut and stay in the Premier League beyond this season.
They face Leicester next and that could be a tricky affair. But post that, Swansea have a considerably lenient set of fixtures and this looks like the perfect time to onboard the ship floating straight outta the shores of relegation.
#1 What does Wenger do now?
As much as I don't like saying this, the Arsenal players hardly look like a unit that wants to give it their best shot. Now, this could be owing to a number of factors. But one of the worrying possibilities is that Arsene Wenger might indeed have lost the dressing room.
With the impending arrival of Aubameyang, you'd expect Lacazette to break a leg, but he didn't even look interested in breaking a sweat. An uninspired, insipid performance from the Frenchman ensured that Arsenal lacked the edge in the final third.
Mkhitaryan, who could prove to be useful in the future, had quite a disappointing debut. But he did come close to scoring but his header was directed straight at Fabianski. It will take a while for Mkhi to find his feet as evidenced by his time at Old Trafford, but Arsene Wenger will hope that he does find it at some point soon or there would be hell to pay.
The Arsenal backline gave a poor account of themselves and all 3 goals could be attributed to some shoddy, absent-minded defending. If I could use one word to describe that Arsenal performance, it would be 'uninspired'. They'll need to knock that off because the rest of the competition are in fourth gear and look unlikely to slow down.
