Arsene Wenger will have bad memories as they head into their FA Cup match on Sunday to take on Swansea City. Their last meeting at the Emirates Stadium ended in a heart breaking defeat for the Gunners, leaving many if not all questioning the French managers future at the club.
The Gunners lacked creativity going forward and looked very suspect on the defensive side of the ball. The Swans new signing, Michu, was a handful for the Arsenal defense, and helped his side to a 0-2 victory with two late goals.
This time around, both sides will be competing for a spot in the next round of the FA Cup, and, the match will be played at Liberty Stadium.At home, Michael Laudrup's side hasn't been doing that well, having only claimed 15 points out of a possible 33 at the Liberty Stadium. Three victories over West Ham, Wigan and West Brom were the only times Swansea enjoyed max points in front of their fans.
Along with those three victories, Laudrup's side managed six draws and just two defeats. Their two defeats came at the hands of Everton and Norwich City while they draw at home against Sunderland, Reading, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa, all in that order.
From those 11 matches at home, the hosts have managed to score 19 goals while conceding 17.
For the traveling side, the Gunners have enjoyed descent success away from home, but they continue to let their fans down when they least expect it. After battering Reading and coming away with a hard fought victory at DW Stadium against Wigan, Arsenal traveled to St. Mary's Stadium to take on Southampton and they looked beyond poor.
No creativity going forward along with a lazy approach or what Wenger considered an over confident approach hurt the Gunners. Will that hurt Arsenal in this FA Cup tie against Swansea?
Previous Matches
12-01-12 Arsenal 0-2 Swansea
01-15-12 Swansea 3-2 Arsenal
09-10-11 Arsenal 1-0 Swansea
Prediction
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup believes that all the pressure is on Arsenal, and its very difficult to not agree with him. Arsene Wenger has come under fire quite a few times over the last few seasons, and in the current campaign, it's happened very often.
A premature exit from the Capital One Cup was difficult to accept for the Arsenal fans, while their current form in the Premier League isn't the most exciting.The last meeting at the Liberty Stadium ended in a 3-2 victory for the hosts. For the sake of Arsene Wenger, he will be hoping that his side can come out victorious to keep their FA Cup title hopes alive.
It will be interesting to see how both managers rotate their squad, or if they choose to go with a full strength side. Either way, this match promises to be action packed and could feature a few goals as well.
The Gunners will need to come out and prove themselves against a well organized Swansea side who will be wanting to prove that their victory at the Emirates wasn't a fluke.
Will Arsenal struggle to impose themselves in the match against a motivated Swansea side at home?
Swansea 1-2 Arsenal
