FA Cup: Arsenal 1-0 Swansea

Arsenal put in a dominant performance in the 3rd round FA Cup replay at the Emirates, but blew chance after chance until Jack Wilshire's 86th minute strike settled the affair. The Gunners dominated possession for most of the match and created a number of opportunities for Giroud and Walcott, but both were wasteful and a place in the fourth round was still in doubt with five minutes to play. It was then that man of the match Wilshire blasted the ball past Vorm after a nice pass by Cazorla and lovely soft touch from Giroud. Arsenal then sealed the deal by shoring up the defense and holding onto the ball for most of the last seven minutes. 

The Gunners pressed the ball up the pitch for most of the game and Swansea seemed frazzled and without much forward momentum. except for a golden opportunity went wanting after a cross by Routledge flew over Vermaelen and Bartley pushed his free header into the far post. Other than that, the back four was solid, the midfield defensive duo of Diaby and Coquelin won the ball back constantly and Wilshire and Cazorla ran rampant at the Swansea goal. The Gunners started brightly with a 5th minute cross from Walcott to Giroud, who failed to find the goal from a tough angle. A minute later Walcott sent the ball into the box for Giroud again, though he shot wide again from an acute angle. In the 13th minute, Giroud intercepted the ball and ran forward, but his pass was behind Walcott and the opportunity passed. Walcott had another chance in the 19th minute when he was through on goal. As he wound up for his shot, it appeared he was clipped, but he got off a shot and the penalty appeal did not move Mark Clattenburg. Vermaelen should have scored right on the strike of half-time as he found himself free with the ball six yards out put kicked it right at Vorm. 

While the first half was relatively even, Arsenal bullied Swansea in the second, putting together 26 shots and dominating possession from beginning to end. Wilshire was the star throughout, driving forward, dribbling around defenders and creating plenty of opportunities that Walcott and Giroud both failed to convert. Walcott in particular was profligate in front of goal, missing one-on-ones, having shots blocked and shooting wide with a clear opportunity. But Wilshire saved the day and Arsenal will next face Brighton on the road in a week and a half. To player scores ...

Sagna (7/10): Sagna was solid defensively and got forward on the right often. He had a few good crosses and rarely gave the ball away, though a little more inventiveness and speed could have created more chances. 

Mertesacker (7/10): Solid as usual, though it was a relatively quite game for the German. He did have a header that could have led to a goal when Giroud got off a decent shot, blocked by a Swansea player.

Vermaelen (6/10): Had a better game, but really should have scored in the 45th minute and did allow a defender to get behind him in the 24th minute that could easily have led to an early Swansea lead. But had a number of important defensive interceptions and blocks, two of which stopped scoring opportunities. Would have been a 7 but for the terrible miss that could have given the Gunners the lead at half time.

Gibbs (7/10): Gibbs played a strong defensive game and got forward on several occasions, crossing, forcing corners and providing a few opportunities (together with a decent shot on goal).

Diaby (6/10): Diaby had a solid defensive game, but gave the ball away five times at my count and missed the sort of penetrating runs and crisp passes forward that we usually see from him. As he is just coming back from injury, it was a solid performance.

Coquelin (5/10): I had great hopes for Coquelin, but have to wonder if his time at the Emirates is coming to an end this season, as he just doesn't seem to live up to his full potential. I counted him giving the ball away six times and besides a few decent passes, he contributed little to the game. Solid performance on the defensive side of the pitch, but little going forward. 


Wilshire (10/10): This was the best game by Jack since coming back from injury and he punctuated it with the 86th minute blast that sent Arsenal through. He seemed unstoppable through much of the game, bursting forward from the middle, providing great service and crosses and running all over the field with purpose. If he continues to play like this, the Gunners prospects for the top four will improve dramatically. 

Cazorla (7/10): The diminutive Spaniard had a relatively quiet first half but came alive in the second and served as the secondary fulcrum of the attack, with a number of key passes including the assist to the assist for the Wilshire goal. Would like to see him get his shots on goal a bit more often but the sort of game that might build some momentum for him to find the form he displayed earlier in the year.

Walcott (4/10): While Walcott played on the right wing rather than through the middle, he often cut into the box and had two good chances in the first half (plus failing to react to a lovely pass by Cazorla that should have been an easy goal and being offsides) and five more in the second (including two open on goal and a missed header after a cross from Giroud that would have been a simple score). His inconsistency continues to be his biggest problem and we need him and/or Giroud to finish on a more consistent basis.

Giroud (6/10): Giroud created a fair number of opportunities for others throughout the match, and held up the ball well at time, but missed at least four good scoring opportunities himself and gave the ball away five times by my count. After a nice run of games, he seems to be blowing far too many chances and highlights the need to sign another striker who can be more consistent.

Sub
Ramsey (--): Ramsey played for about 14 minutes and provided a lovely pass to Walcott on goal but his shot was blocked. Other than that, he had few touches and not sure what score he thus deserves. 

It was an important win for Arsenal after the disappointing loss to Man City Sunday and should give them confidence heading to the Bridge this weekend. A win there and over West Ham next Wednesday would actually push us above Chelsea in the table. The first is a big ask, but if Arsenal press, play solid at the back and convert their chances (particularly on the counter), we have a chance to win the game. As has been clear for most of the year, we still need a striker (Adrian Lopez looks most likely) and defensive midfielder (can't count on Diaby staying fit -- latest rumours have us in for West Ham rock Diame) and could really use another center back (Montepellier's Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa looks the best available option -- though I'm not sure Wenger will buy three players). Wenger has admitted he needs to spend money moving forward and that could be good news, as we clearly need to strengthen to start winning silverware again.    

P.S. Demba Ba scored again today for Chelsea and given the performances by Giroud and Walcott, one wonders why we didn't even bid for the scoring machine. But Chelsea gave up a 2-0 lead and had to settle for a point against Southampton at the Bridge. They are certainly vulnerable at the Bridge at present and must be disappointed by the news that Guardiola is heading to Bayern in June (as am I; the dream of him replacing Wenger is now dead). Go Gunners!