Swansea vs. Arsenal: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Arsenal’s annual injury crisis is underway. Their thin squad will be put to the test by a Swansea City team looking to build on a vital win at Aston Villa.
Last season, Garry Monk’s men beat Arsenal both home and away. However, Arsene Wenger’s outfit appear stronger this season, even with a host of injuries. This promises to be a tight game between two teams renowned for their attractive football.
Date: Saturday, October 31
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Time: 3 p.m. GMT/11 a.m. ET
Location: Liberty Stadium, Swansea
Television coverage: USA and NBC Universo (U.S. only)
Streaming: None available
Form
Swansea
L (1-0) vs. Hull City
L (3-1) vs. Southampton
D (2-2) vs. Tottenham
L (0-1) vs. Stoke
W (1-2) vs. Aston Villa
Arsenal
W (3-0) vs. Manchester United
W (0-3) vs. Watford
W (2-0) vs. Bayern Munich
W (2-1) vs. Everton
L (3-0) vs. Sheffield Wednesday
Until beating Aston Villa, Swansea had been on a five-match winless run in the Premier League. They have also not won a league match at home since August. With that precious three points in the bag, they’ll be optimistic of improving their Liberty Stadium record.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have won four league games on the spin. They’ll hope to prove the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday was nothing more than a blip caused by fielding an unfamiliar lineup.
The Managers
Since becoming Swansea manager in February 2014, Garry Monk has never lost a game at Arsenal. Despite the Gunners’ good start to 2015/16, he’s confident he can maintain that record on Saturday. Speaking to Uche Amako of the Express, he said:
"They look like title contenders, they've had a fantastic start to the season. A lot has been made of them from January onwards and the form they've been in, they are title contenders. The money they've spent on the squad and their form means they are title contenders.
We've always had good games and we’ve had some good results. They are very tough games but we know when we are at our best we can give them a game. It will be a tough game but we will be in with a chance if we put our best foot forward on the pitch.
"
For his part, Arsene Wenger seems surprised that Monk has come under any pressure at all this season. Speaking to Arsenal.com about Monk’s situation, he said:
"He has surprisingly been questioned very quickly. I think he has done extremely well. Very quickly some rumours came up last week that he could be questioned. I was surprised because I think he’s done extremely well.
"
Wenger is well-known as a fan of managerial stability, so perhaps it should be no surprise to see him speaking in Monk’s favour.
Team News
Swansea
Swansea boss Garry Monk has a fully fit squad to choose from heading into this game. Wayne Routledge had previously been the only major absentee, but he returned to training this week after recovering from a calf problem.
It’s likely to be too soon for Routledge to start, which means Monk will most likely keep faith with the team that won at Villa Park. That means persisting with out-of-form striker Bafetimbi Gomis. Speaking to the BBC, Monk reiterated that he was unconcerned about the French forward:
"The pressure is on everybody, not one particular person. The pressure is always on every single game for you to perform.
Saturday is not about who gets the goals - it's about the team performing and trying to win the game. Whoever scores the goals really does not matter.
"
Nevertheless, he would doubtless be delighted if Gomis could end his run of six Premier League games without a goal against the Gunners.
Predicted Swansea XI (4-2-3-1): Lukasz Fabianski; Kyle Naughton, Ashley Williams, Federico Fernandez, Neil Taylor; Ki Sung-yueng, Jonjo Shelvey; Andre Ayew, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jefferson Montero; Bafetimbi Gomis
Arsenal
By contrast, Arsenal have a whole host of injury problems to contend with. Accordingly to physioroom.com, the Gunners currently sit top of the Premier League’s infamous injury table. Eight senior players will be unable to take part at the Liberty Stadium.
The latest to fall foul of injuries are Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott, both of whom had to leave the field during the Sheffield Wednesday match in midweek. Neither are expected to be back before the international break, so there is a surprise opportunity for Costa Rican Joel Campbell to stake his case for a place in the team.
Campbell is arguably sixth in line for a spot on the right wing, but a spate of injuries in that particular part of the field have presented him with an invaluable opportunity.
Walcott’s absence also means that Olivier Giroud will continue to start at centre-forward, as he did against both Everton and Wednesday. Meanwhile, the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will come back into the side having been rested for the Capital One Cup.
Predicted Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Petr Cech; Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal; Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla; Joel Campbell, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Olivier Giroud
Players to Watch
Swansea: Jefferson Montero
It was in this fixture last season that Jefferson Montero really announced himself to the Premier League. Up against Calum Chambers, he exploited the Englishman’s lack of pace to give the Arsenal defence nightmares.
This time around it should prove to be a tougher test. Montero will be lined up opposite the fleet-footed Hector Bellerin. He will need to use all his trickery to get the best of the young Spaniard, who has been one of the outstanding full-backs in this season’s Premier League.
Arsenal: Joel Campbell
This is undoubtedly Joel Campbell’s best chance of securing himself a long-term future with Arsenal. Having finally been bumped high enough up the pecking order to have a chance of starting a league game, he simply has to impress.
Wenger seems confident he can do it. Speaking to Arsenal.com, he said:
"I have been very impressed with Campbell, his attitude is outstanding and his daily dedication in training and his desire to improve is absolutely outstanding.
I think he can be a big help for us, and he can play centre forward don’t forget that. In the coming two to three months he can be a very important player for us.
This is a challenge for me and for the players who come in to show their quality. At the end you can find yourself with a bigger squad - that is what happened with Coquelin and Bellerin last season.
"
Although Campbell is predominantly an attacking player, he will also have to track back to protect Bellerin against Montero. This game will surely be the best indication yet as to whether or not Campbell has any chance of making it at Arsenal.
James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.
