Swansea City 3 Arsenal 1: Clucas at the double as Swans move off the bottom

Sam Clucas scored twice as Swansea City moved out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 3-1 victory over Arsenal at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday.

Bottom of the table prior to kick-off – Carlos Carvalhal’s Swans followed up their 1-0 triumph over Liverpool by beating another heavyweight on home soil, with the result lifting them up to 17th.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s potential arrival has dominated the conversation around the Gunners recently, but Arsene Wenger now has another on-pitch aberration to digest.

Arsenal even took the lead thanks to Nacho Monreal’s fourth league goal of the season, only to concede an equaliser just a minute later when Clucas coolly converted a one-on-one opportunity.

A shocking error from Petr Cech, who scuffed a clearance straight to scorer Jordan Ayew, gifted Swansea the chance to go ahead just after the hour mark.

Despite utilising both Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Olivier Giroud off the bench, the Frenchman perhaps playing for Arsenal for the last time as Chelsea reportedly plot a late bid, the visitors’ fate was sealed when Clucas slammed home a loose ball in the 86th minute, meaning the travel-sick Gunners have now picked up just 13 points on the road this season.

3 – Sam Clucas has scored with all three of his shots on target in the Premier League this season. Efficient.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 30, 2018

After ringing the changes for Saturday’s FA Cup draw away at Notts County, Carvalhal unsurprisingly reverted back to the same starting XI that had ended Liverpool’s 18-game unbeaten run.

Alfie Mawson grabbed the winner against Jurgen Klopp’s side and came close to finding the net again in the opening minutes, Aaron Ramsey diving in to make a crucial block at the back post just as the centre-back seemed certain to convert Nathan Dyer’s low cross.

Instead, Arsenal grabbed the opening goal against the run of play.

Given time and space on the right, Mesut Ozil picked out the run of Monreal with a floated cross to the back post that the latter converted on the half-volley.

4 – Nacho Monreal has netted four goals in his 21 Premier League games this season, after managing just one in his previous five top-flight campaigns with Arsenal (134 games). Influx.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 30, 2018

However, the lead didn’t last long. Ozil was involved in the game’s second goal too, losing possession inside his own half to spring Swansea onto the attack. Mawson’s pass allowed Clucas to run clear of the Arsenal defence before slotting low beyond the advancing Cech.

With the visitors struggling to create much in the early stages of the second half, Wenger sent on Mkhitaryan on the hour mark, but the Armenian hadn’t touched the ball before his side fell behind in embarrassing fashion.

Cech made a complete mess of clearing Shkodran Mustafi’s square pass to present Ayew with a gift. The goalkeeper connected with nothing but air as he swung his left foot at the ball, resulting in it striking his standing leg and dribbling perfectly into the path of the Swansea forward.

Ayew wasted a glorious chance to put Swansea further ahead in the 71st minute, firing wide with his left foot, but the miss didn’t prove costly in the final reckoning, as Clucas made sure with a firm finish from six yards out.

KEY OPTA STATS

– Swansea have won consecutive Premier League games for the first time this season.
– Carlos Carvalhal is just the fifth manager to win his first two matches against Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in all competitions (also Alex Ferguson, Luis Enrique, John Gregory and Roy Evans).
– Arsenal have accrued 13 points from their 13 away games this season; only in 2005/06 had they won fewer points on the road at this stage of a Premier League season (12).
– Arsenal have lost 15 points from winning positions this season in the Premier League; only Watford have dropped more (16).