Welcome to Talking Heads.
Before and after every first-team fixture, our co-commentator and an Arsenal blogger will have their say on the game.
Arsenal took on Swansea City in the Premier League on Saturday and our Talking Heads for this game were studio guest Martin Hayes and James McNicholas of Gunnerblog.
Martin Hayes Studio guestMARTIN HAYES, STUDIO GUEST
This was another very important win as the season approaches its climax.
It wasn't pretty, and I thought the game was quite average with only a few clear-cut chances. But at this stage in the campaign the result is all-important and, in the end, I think we deserved the three points.
The first goal came from an unusual source, with Nacho Monreal grabbing his first goal for the Club. I was impressed with Gervinho's finish for the second. He took his time and put the ball away clinically. That's much more like it from him.
It's important to go into the international break with three points and hopefully the players can rest and regroup and make sure that they get another result against Reading in two weeks' time.
I think a good performance was needed coming into this game. The team showed some real fighting spirit against Bayern Muncih and hopefully it can give them some confidence. Not many teams go to Munich and win 2-0. There’s 10 cup finals left now and it’s important to carry the momentum into Saturday's game.
Consistency will be massive. We just have to win our games, go on a run and take maximum points. That will keep the pressure on Tottenham and Chelsea. They’ve still got distractions in Europe and Chelsea still have the FA Cup so they’ve got a lot of fixtures left.
Swansea have won the League Cup, they’re in Europe and they can’t go down. It’s hard to know what to expect from them. They are the nearest side to us in that they play with a similar style and do it very well. The good thing for them is that there will be no pressure on them on Saturday.
Lukasz Fabianski was really impressive against Bayern. He came in, did everything right and had a good night. He showed that his attitude and confidence is good. It will be a really good game with both sides going for it. I think our extra motivation will see us through so I’ll go for a 2-1 away win.
James McNicholas GunnerblogJAMES McNICHOLAS, GUNNERBLOG
What a weekend it turned out to be for Arsenal. After a stirring 2-0 win against Swansea, Arsenal were then able to watch on as Spurs slipped up against Fulham.
Two victories inside a week - and notably two clean sheets - have banished memories of the calamitous derby defeat to Tottenham. Suddenly, the race for fourth place feels intense, enthralling, and winnable.
The Swansea performance was a carbon copy of our display in Munich: Arsenal were solid at the back, and efficient when presented with chances. It was great to see Gervinho get on the scoresheet as well. The Ivorian has been widely criticised for lacking composure in front of goal, but showed no such nerves on this occasion.
The only shame is that the international break arrives at a time when the momentum seems to be shifting in favour of the Gunners.
Arsenal will travel to Swansea buoyed by a terrific result in Munich. There's no good way to go out of the Champions League, but Tuesday night must be as close as it gets.
It'll be interesting to see how our midweek performance influences Arsene Wenger's team selection. Laurent Koscielny and Lukasz Fabianski both came in and excelled, so they'll be hoping to keep their places at the expense of Vermaelen and Szczesny respectively. I expect the manager to keep faith with the back five that were so solid in Germany.
Swansea have already proved difficult opposition this season - Arsenal have managed just one narrow victory across three closely-fought games. As much as we're pushing to regain our Champions League spot, Swansea will harbour burgeoning ambitions of leapfrogging us into fifth place.
Any complacency will be punished. Arsenal need to play with all the urgency and efficiency they mustered in Munich if they are to leave Wales with a positive result.
* The views expressed in Talking Heads do not necessarily reflect those of Arsenal Football Club or Arsenal Broadband Ltd
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
