- Walcott scored twice, Ozil the other
- Sigurdsson, Baston pulled goals back
- Xhaka given straight red card
- Arsenal win six-straight games
LONDON — Bob Bradley’s debut in the Premeir League was a sensational game.
Arsenal raced into a 2-0 lead with Theo Walcott making the most of two horrendous defensive errors but Gylfi Sigurdsson curled home after Granit Xhaka‘s miscue to make it 2-1 at half time.
The Gunners went 3-1 up early in the second half with Mesut Ozil’s volley but then the game turned as the brilliant Modou Barrow set up Borja Baston to make it 3-2 and then Xhaka was sent off for a lung on Barrow as Arsenal finished with 10-men.
Try as they might Swansea couldn’t find an equalizer as Arsenal held on for a sixth-straight Premier League win but Bradley — the first-ever American coach to manage in the PL — will be delighted with the fighting spirit of his side.
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Gunners dominated the ball early on and Skhodran Mustafi headed against the crossbar from a corner.
Swansea looked dangerous on break with the pace of Barrow causing Arsenal problems and Leroy Fer should’ve put the Swans ahead inside the first 20 minutes.
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A swift move involving Barrow and Kyle Naughton down the right found Fer on the edge of the box but he could only curl his shot over the bar. Glorious chance wasted by the Swans.
That proved costly as Arsenal went 1-0 up after 25 minutes as Hector Bellerin headed goalwards then Jordi Amat hesitated and allowed Walcott to tap home. 1-0 to the Arsenal.
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Sanchez almost scored an audacious lob as he was played in but his high effort dropped just wide of the far post with Lukasz Fabianski stranded. Soon after it was 2-0 with a corner from the left bouncing around in the box and Walcott tapping him.
Swansea were handed a lifeline just before half time as Granit Xhaka gave the ball away and Sigurdsson bent home a beautiful strike into the top corner. 2-1. Game on.
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The game opened up in the second half with Fabianski saving well from Alex Iwobi down low after good interplay on the left side of the box.
Ozil made it 3-1, on his birthday, with a sublime finish just before the hour. Sanchez’s cross to the back post was met by Ozil who smashed a volley home to restore Arsenal’s two-goal advantage.
Swansea were far from done though as Barrow raced cleared of Nacho Monreal and crossed for substitute Baston to slot home his first goal for the club. Barrow’s pace again caused problems as he drew a lunging tackle from Xhaka which saw the Arsenal man handed a straight red card with 20 minutes to go.
Sigurdsson blazed over from a great Barrow pull back and as Swansea piled forward they left plenty of gaps at the back. Arsenal almost made the most of that as Walcott ran free but his shot hit the inside of the post and came out.
Fer went close late on as Swansea swung plenty of crosses into the box, while Walcott (who could have hat six goals) slammed over from close range with his hat trick beckoning but Arsenal held on for the win as Bradley’s debut ended in defeat.
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