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Arsenal beat Swansea 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon to put the pressure on Tottenham in the Premier League. The Gunners moved to within a point of their north London rivals and leapfrogged Chelsea who are scheduled to player later today.
Although it was the Swans that took the lead through Sam Clucas in the first half, the Gunners roared back in the second half with goals from Sead Kolasinac and Aaron Ramsey to win all three points.
Here are the major talking points from the game.
#1 Arsenal fail to capitalise on early dominance yet again
Just as in the Everton game last weekend, Arsenal started the game strongly. It was pedal-to-the-metal football as Swansea sat back and absorbed the pressure - their 3-5-2 automatically collapsing into a 5-3-2 off the ball.
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However, with no space to manoeuvre in the final third, the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette were crowded out - especially inside the box.
But in the first 20 minutes, the Gunners did have as many as five shots on goal. By the end of the half, they had seven shots of which only two were on target with three shots blocked.
The chances were there but they weren't as clear-cut as they would have liked. Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey and even Hector Bellerin had shots which were blocked while Per Mertesacker's header from a set-piece was saved.
In contrast, Swansea capitalised on their first shot on goal.
#2 Swansea's fleet-footed forwards trouble Arsenal back-line
Although Arsenal enjoyed the bulk of the possession (77.4% in the first half alone), the Swans played well on the counter-attack. But their chances on goal were borne out of putting pressure on Arsenal's back-three.
The first goal came via an error from Laurent Koscielny when he tried to intercept a cross-field ball. Tammy Abraham, playing on the French defender's shoulder, was quick to react and as Koscielny slipped over and fell to the turf, Sam Clucas made a run from the left to overload the defence.
Hector Bellerin was facing the wrong way and he was caught in two minds - cover the pass or the wing-back's run. He ultimately did neither, finding himself in no man's land, allowing Clucas to angle his run to receive Abraham's through ball and slip the ball past the onrushing Petr Cech to make it 1-0.
Jordan Ayew could have easily doubled the swans' lead just before the break when he out-muscled Per Mertesacker (who also fell to the turf after losing the battle). All the Ghanian had to do was square the ball but he took the shot instead and Cech was lucky enough to make himself big and deflect the effort.
But had Ayew passed, the score would have read 2-0 before the break.
#3 Wenger has signed a very intelligent player in Sead Kolasinac
A look at Sead Kolasinac's performances this season and it's easy to understand why he was selected in the Bundesliga Team of the Season for 2016/17. That he managed to sign him for free represents another major coup for Arsene Wenger and the Gunners.
Kolasinac has fit in seamlessly into the side on the left flank and his ability to play as a wing-back has helped the Gunners immensely. Nacho Monreal now has a permanent spot in the back-three, allowing Kolasinac to attack at his leisure.
The Bosnian has a mean left foot and his equaliser again demonstrated how effective he is in the box. It isn't his first goal of the season and will definitely not be his last as he pounced on a loose ball in the box to fire it past Lukasz Fabianski.
Making attacking runs is his forte and he times them to perfection to ensure he stretches the defence which allows midfielders to make runs. It is how he managed to set up Aaron Ramsey for the second.
A smart cut-back instead of a cross flummoxed the defence and allowed the Welsh midfielder to place his shot to perfection.
Kolasinac almost always makes the right decision in the final third - be it linking up with teammates, taking a shot on goal or cutting it back for a teammate in a better position to score. And that intelligence is what makes him the ideal player for a manager like Wenger.
#4 Swansea slowly slipping into familiar territory again - the relegation zone
The Welsh side may have survived relegation by the skin of their teeth last season after Paul Clement arrived and cemented their status as a Premier League team. The club were in the relegation zone for 18 game weeks and only managed to climb out towards the very end.
However, this season's start has been far from promising. The Swans had a massive squad overhaul with 18 players leaving the club while 13 new players joined the club this summer.
What it has resulted in is Clement still scratching his head when it comes to deciding which formation to use. He has so far employed a 3-5-2, a 4-3-3, a 4-3-1-2 and a 3-1-4-2 formation with little to no success from any of the formations.
His side has only won two games so far - against a struggling Crystal Palace and newly-promoted Huddersfield. Six losses in 10 games does not bode well for the Swans and they look destined to fight another relegation battle.
#5 Alexis Sanchez yet to hit last season's highs in 3-4-2-1 formation
Arsene Wenger will be pleased with the three points - especially after a turbulent week where he and the board were heckled by the fans at the Arsenal AGM (annual general meeting). The Gunners are in a good run of form at home, winning their 10th home league game in a row to set a new milestone at the Emirates in what was Wenger's 800th league game in charge of the club.
But one thing that will be a cause for concern is his misfiring forward Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean has only scored two goals so far this season, one of which came in the Europa League.
There have been a few occasions where he and his teammates have not been on the same page. Altercations with Aaron Ramsey (not the nasty kind) have also become commonplace as they find themselves in the same position when Alexis drifts in, causing moves to break down.
Although he is still very much involved in attacking moves, he is struggling to get on the end of them. The 3-4-2-1 formation has taken him further away from goal as playing behind Alexandre Lacazette has restricted his chances in the final third unless the Frenchman brings him into play.
But Alexis has praised Lacazette's finishing and touched upon their good chemistry on the pitch. Arsenal fans will only hope they get going sooner rather than later.
