Arsenal Vs Swansea City: Match Report And Complete Player Ratings

Arsenal secured a dominant 4-0 win against Swansea City in the Premier League. Here is Pain In the Arsenal’s match report and complete player ratings.

Paul Clement‘s first match in charge of Swansea City ended in a 4-0 defeat as Arsenal scored two second-half own goals and dominated play.

The Swans came out very aggressive in the first 45 minutes and pressed high up the pitch. It was proving successful for them at the beginning of the match, but it took one bad turn and Swansea heads went down.

From the hosts’ perspective, Olivier Giroud’s opening goal could have been seen as unlucky – though Mesut Ozil was given far too much time in the box and Giroud had the simplest of tap-ins.

After nearly an hour the counter attack was on for Arsenal and they ran riot, scoring three goals, two of which came through touches from Swansea City players. In the end, it was the same old, same old for Swansea.

Here are the player ratings.

PETR CECH

GK, Arsenal FC

7

Petr Cech kept another clean sheet but wasn’t tested many times during the match. Swansea didn’t manage many shots on target and played the entire second 45 minutes in their own half.

GABRIEL PAULISTA

RB, Arsenal FC

6.5

Gabriel Paulista had a good match but he did make a few wayward passes in the first half that gave Mustafi and Koscielny quite a scare. The two center backs looked very confident today and Paulista dealt with the Swansea left winger adequately – though the majority of Swansea breaks did come down the left flank.

LAURENT KOSCIELNY

CB, Arsenal FC

7

Laurent Koscielny mishit a headed pass in the first half and it nearly led to an opening for Swansea. If not for his German partner, he might have been punished for that – which brings up the concern of his potential inability to be a title-winning defender without Skhodran Mustafi. Fortunately he got away with it, and made up for it by not making any glaring errors in the second half. That was all too easy, though.

SHKODRAN MUSTAFI

CB, Arsenal FC

8.5

(MAN OF THE MATCH) Skhodran Mustafi was the standout player in defense for Arsenal and looked extremely quick and agile, on and off the ball. Very impressed with his passing, his tackling and his ability to coordinate Arsenal’s players even when they made mistakes.

NACHO MONREAL

LB, Arsenal FC

7

Nacho Monreal was lively and overlapped down the left flank frequently, but he wasn’t up against top quality opposition today and Modou Barrow’s absence was fortunate for Arsenal. Monreal is a tad slow these days, and it’s no longer a secret to wingers in this league.

AARON RAMSEY

MID, Arsenal FC

6.5

Aaron Ramsey had some moments of real indecision and timidness, which is deeply concerning. His form of the summer and EURO 2016 is all gone, and he is still finding his place in the Arsenal side. Of course he is able to pass the ball in the midfield, but that impact in the final third is what we have always been waiting for and it is still yet to come.

GRANIT XHAKA

MID, Arsenal FC

7

Granit Xhaka made an excellent interception for the third goal that started the Gunners’ move, and he started the move for the fourth goal as well. Overall his passing provided the Gunners with opportunities to run at Swansea’s defense, and that gave them the win.

ALEX IWOBI

MID, Arsenal FC

8

Alex Iwobi was at the heart of a lot of the attacking activity in the opposing box, and that’s really what he is there for. He caused his opponents so many problems on the flanks and got two deflections into the net, which count as assists.

ALEXIS SANCHEZ

MID, Arsenal FC

7.5

Alexis Sanchez was part of all the attacks and contributed exactly what he has been contributing on a weekly basis, which is great to see. What isn’t great to see is the reaction to being subbed off for Danny Welbeck, who hasn’t played consistently in nearly a year and needs minutes. Cheer up, Alexi.

MESUT OZIL

MID, Arsenal FC

7.5

Mesut Ozil was active today and moved between the center and left attacking areas to cause problems in the pockets of space. He caused the first goal to occur with his header and did his part until being subbed off around the 77th minute.

OLIVIER GIROUD

ST, Arsenal FC

7.5

Olivier Giroud got another goal in another start, proving his worth once again as a Premier League striker. He looks to have picked up a knock during the game and there could be some pain in the next few days – expect Arsene Wenger to have addressed this possibility by the next match day.

DANNY WELBECK

SUB, Arsenal FC

N/A

Danny Welbeck had a quiet 15 minutes on the pitch and didn’t have enough impact on the game to earn a match rating.

LUCAS PEREZ

SUB, Arsenal FC

N/A

Lucas Perez had a quiet game, brought on as a substitute in the 77th minute for Mesut Ozil. He didn’t have enough influence on the game to earn a match rating.

• Published on 01/14/2017 at 6:02 PM GMT
• Last updated on 01/14/2017 at 6:02 PM GMT