Arsenal vs Swansea Preview, Team News, Likely Line-Ups, Key Man + Predicted Score

Arsenal entertain Swansea City at the Emirates Stadium tonight looking to put Saturday’s disappointment firmly behind them.

The Gunners were thrashed 6-0 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and with Man City and Liverpool also winning, we’ve now slipped down to fourth where we are seven points off the pace with a game in hand.

The Premier League title is not out of sight yet, but failure to pick up three points tonight will all-but confirm we’re out of the race for another season.

Arsene Wenger cancelled his pre-match press conference yesterday and will no doubt have told the players he’s demanding a response against Swansea to get our season back on track ahead of Saturday’s clash with Manchester City.

Swansea lost 3-2 to Everton at the weekend to extend their winless run to eight matches in all competitions, and they now sit 15th in the table and just four points off the drop zone, so Garry Monk will be desperate to pull off a shock with a win tonight.

Team News

We received a huge blow yesterday with the news that Laurent Koscielny is expected to miss at least two weeks after picking up a calf injury on Saturday. Thomas Vermaelen will come in alongside Per Mertesacker at the back while youngster Hector Bellerin has been drafted into the squad.

Thankfully Kieran Gibbs is available after the FA upheld our appeal against his wrongful dismissal at the weekend, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also available after the red card he was supposed to have been shown by Andrew Mariner was also successfully appealed.

There have been rumours suggesting that Arsene Wenger is set to drop Wojciech Szczesny, Mikel Arteta and Oliver Giroud for the game after their disappointing displays against Chelsea. Lukasz Fabianski is expected to come in between the sticks while Mathieu Flamini and Yaya Sanogo are also in line for recalls.

Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Abou Diaby remain sidelined but Kim Kallstrom could make his debut.

Swansea arrive with no fresh injury worries and Michu could make his first start of 2014 after recovering from injury to come off the bench against Everton on Saturday.

Likely Line-Ups

Key Man

Santi Cazorla: The Spaniard has been hit and miss of late and with the likes of Wilshere, Ozil, Walcott and Ramsey all out, Wenger will be looking to Cazorla to provide him with some magic in the final third.

Predicted Score

Arsenal 3-0 Swansea: If the players mental state hasn’t been irreparably damaged by Saturday’s defeat, I think the Swans could face a backlash tonight. We have largely been excellent at home this season and are undefeated in our last 11 at the Emirates, so I’m backing the boys to respond this evening.

What team would you put out and whats your predicted score? Share your views below.