Arsenal host Swansea City at home on Saturday in a potentially difficult match for The Gunners as The Swans are known to cause an upset or two in the Premier League. The Welsh side was arguably the surprise package of last season’s competition when they stunned the entire Premier League to finish in the top half of the table, playing sumptuous attacking football under manager Brendan Rodgers which even drew comparisons with Barcelona. But this season, after the departure of Rodgers to Liverpool, the Welsh club has been playing hit and miss kind of football – brilliant one day and absolute rubbish the next.
And Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal side need to be aware of this trait of The Swans and they cannot afford to take them lightly, because in Michu they possess a world class poacher, who can punish the fragile Arsenal defense for the tiniest of lapses. It is his defense that has manager Arsene Wenger most worried and it has almost been some time since they managed to keep a clean sheet. Arsenal has also been a hit and misses side this season, brilliant in one game and playing some of the worst football possible in the next.
After the match against Tottenham Hotspur when they absolutely bulldozed their North London rivals, they were expected to carry the same form but that was not to be and the ever unpredictability of the Arsenal cropped up again. In their last match in the Premier League, The Gunners could only manage a 1-1 draw against Everton and that too, after going into the lead in the 1st minute of the game. It was probably the umpteenth time that Arsene Wenger saw his side take the lead in a match, only to surrender it and this recurrence of defensive lapses should be something that keeps him worried.
However, the Frenchman is known to be extremely stubborn and it is unlikely that he will change the shape or even the personnel for the game against Swansea City. If he does give Theo Walcott another start against them as a striker, the young striker might repay the faith shown in him by the boss with another brilliant display. However, with his support cast performing so poorly, it is very doubtful how Walcott alone can manage to hold his own against an extremely stubborn Swansea side under the stewardship of legendary Danish player Michael Laudrup.