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Stadium: Emirates Stadium
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Kick-off: 1:00 AM (IST), Thursday, 17th of January
The Gunners return to FA Cup action after being denied a late win over Swansea due to an even later Danny Graham goal that kept the Swans’ recent unbeaten run going, and earned them a visit to the Emirates in a replay of the third round’s action. Michu’s strike had put the home side in the lead, within two minutes of coming on to the pitch as a substitute, while Arsenal responded through Podolski and Gibbs. With the FA Cup being the last major trophy that Arsenal won before going on this long trophy-drought, Arsene Wenger’s men will be certain to prioritise victory at all costs in this fixture.
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Arsenal: W W D D L
With no wins out of three in the new year thus far, Arsenal haven’t been in the best of form since their scintillating 7 – 3 win over Newcastle in the last game of the previous year. This has mostly been due to a failure of the frontline, and in particular, Theo Walcott’s inability to recapture the form that was displayed against the Toons. Attacks have rarely been as swift and as cutting edge as they were in that game and a couple before it, while a defensive folly against Manchester City over the weekend cost them three invaluable points. In terms of numbers, the good news for Arsenal is that this past weekend represented the first time they had failed to score in nine games, in spite of all that has been said about their strike force. The bad news, however, is that the previous game in which Arsenal failed to score was a 2 – 0 loss to their opponents for tonight, and that they have conceded in 9 out of their last 11 fixtures.
Swansea: W D D W D
A calmly put together run of seven unbeaten games indicates that Swansea are in much better form, at least in terms of consistency, than their hosts for tonight. The key has been good defending from Michael Laudrup’s side, who have lost just 2 of their last 17 fixtures in all tournaments, but have drawn one too many for their own liking. Three clean sheets in their last six matches, including ones against Chelsea and Everton, clearly point to good work at the back for the team from Wales, but they will be aware of the fact that they conceded two when these two last met in the original fixture of tonight’s replay. Attack wise, Danny Graham has picked up the baton from Michu, with 4 goals in his last five games, while the Spanish newcomer continues to dazzle everyone with his consistent displays.
Arsenal: Lukasz Fabianski, Mikel Arteta, Laurent Koscielny, Tomas Rosicky.
Olivier Giroud
After influencing the game when introduced as a substitute against Manchester City, and proving a constant threat in the air, the French striker can expect to be handed a starting role in Wenger’s cup side. Having slowly settled in at the London club, and found his feet in recent weeks, Giroud has scored a total of 7 goals in all competitions, and threatened much more. Against a Swansea defence that is well disciplined and compact, it may well be a set piece that makes the breakthrough for Arsenal, and there is no greater set-piece threat in their ranks than Mr. Giroud.
Michu
While the Spaniard may not necessarily be risked over the entire duration of the match, there is little doubt that Michael Laudrup will be looking to deploy his prolific signing some time or the other against a club which he seems to have taken a shine to. With 3 goals in his last two games against the Gunners, he has exposed Arsenal’s weakness to his brand of football, and will be looking to add some shine to his reputation by helping Swansea beat yet another ‘top four’ side in cup competition.
An entertaining fixture, with both teams wanting to win. Arsenal know, deep inside, that they must break their trophy drought sooner rather than later, if they are to appease their deserving fans. However, Swansea are one of those sides who have nothing really to play for in the league, and can afford to fully focus their attention on gaining cup glory. Thus, with neither side willing to concede ground, it should make for an interesting clash indeed.
