Arsenal v Swansea preview: Danny Welbeck may be rested
Thursday 3 March 2016 10:55, UK
Arsene Wenger has hinted he may rest striker Danny Welbeck for the visit of Swansea on Wednesday night.
Welbeck, who only returned from a 10-month absence just over a fortnight ago, played 83 minutes in the 3-2 defeat by Manchester United on Sunday.
"I will have to be cautious with him [Welbeck] going into the Swansea game," said Wenger, who is looking to avoid a third straight defeat in all competitions.
Swansea, who led at Tottenham on Sunday but eventually fell to a 2-1 defeat, could move as much as six points away from the relegation zone with a win at the Emirates.
Team news
The Gunners go into the game on the back of damaging defeats to Barcelona and Manchester United and Wenger may look to freshen up his team.
While Welbeck is likely to be rested, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee) will be out for up to eight weeks, with Jack Wilshere (leg), Santi Cazorla (knee) and Tomas Rosicky (thigh) all still missing.
Swansea have no fresh injury worries ahead of their trip to the Emirates. Manager Francesco Guidolin is suffering with a chest infection but is expected to take his place in the dugout after resting following training on Tuesday morning.
First-team coach Alan Curtis hinted there may be a couple of changes due to a few "bumps and bruises" to keep the squad fresh.
Merson's predictions
I agree with Graeme Souness that Arsenal were a joke on Sunday, but I believe they will beat Swansea at home. They simply have to win this because if they lose and Leicester win, then it's goodnight for the title race. It would be an eight-point gap to Leicester and they're also chasing Tottenham who have a much better goal difference.
For that reason, I'd say this is probably the biggest game of the season so far for Arsenal. Swansea had a kick in the teeth after losing from 1-0 up at Spurs and they are probably the perfect team for Arsenal to play this week because they're a nice team who won't kick Arsenal off the pitch. Arsenal should win - but if they don't score in the first 20 minutes, it could get very cagey.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (Sky Bet Odds 5/1)
Opta stats
The nine Premier League matches between Arsenal and Swansea City have seen four wins apiece and one draw. Two of those wins for Swansea have come at the Emirates Stadium.
Danny Welbeck has scored three goals in four Premier League games against Swansea.
Just one of the last 26 goals scored in this fixture in all competitions has been netted in the first half.
The Gunners have won eight and lost just one of their last 12 Premier League matches at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal have failed to score in four of their last six matches in all competitions at the Emirates Stadium.
Mesut Ozil has 18 assists this season in the Premier League - only Thierry Henry (20 in 2002-03) managed more in a single PL campaign.
Betting
Arsenal are just 4/11 with Sky Bet to bounce back from Sunday's title setback with a victory over Swansea, who are considered the weekend's biggest outsiders at 8/1, while a draw in priced at 18/5. Wenger opted for Theo Walcott to lead the line on Sunday but it is Olivier Giroud who heads the first goalscorer betting at 3/1, with Walcott almost double the odds at 11/2, while Alberto Paloschi is 11/1 to break the deadlock in north London for the second time in four days.
