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Swansea logo
Premier League
Oct 31, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
Arsenal logo

0-3

FT(HT: 0-0)
Giroud (49'), Koscielny (68'), Campbell (73')

Player Ratings: Swansea City 0-3 Arsenal

Sports Mole sorts the heroes from the villains in South Wales as Arsenal beat Swansea City 3-0, despite a sluggish first-half display.

Arsenal pulled a rousing second-half display out of the bag on Halloween to beat Swansea City 3-0 at the Liberty Stadium.

City dominated the first 45 minutes, but Olivier Giroud nodded the Gunners into a 1-0 lead on 49 minutes, before Laurent Koscielny added a controversial second after the hour mark.

Joel Campbell, urged by Arsene Wenger to make the most of his extended spell in the first team, then struck a third on 73 minutes as the North Londoners ground out an impressive win.

Below, Sports Mole sorts the heroes from the villains on an afternoon which threw up plenty of both in South Wales.

Olivier Giroud (C) of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's first goal with his team mates Per Mertesacker (L) and Mesut Ozil (R) during the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and Arsenal at Liberty Stadium on October 31, 2015© Getty Images



SWANSEA CITY

Goal

Lukasz Fabianski: Literally did not have a shot to save in the first half, but let himself down big time for the way in which he conceded the second goal. His 'Flappyhandski' nickname is bound to resurface. (4/10)

Defence

Kyle Naughton: Shackled the usually-explosive Sanchez brilliantly in both halves and limited the Chilean to very little involvement. (7/10)

Federico Fernandez: Fortunate not to be booked for the way in which he manhandled Sanchez, but did precious little wrong overall. (6/10)

Ashley Williams: The Welshman was made a mug of when Giroud lost him to nod home the opener early in the second half. Also booked late on. (5/10)

Neil Taylor: Initially struggled with Campbell and Bellerin, and then struggled against the duo once more for the final 20 minutes or so. (5/10)

Midfield

Andre Ayew: Sacrificed an attacking role to help Naughton combat the tricky Sanchez in a very disciplined performance from the wide player. (6/10)

Ki Sung-yueng: Okay in the first half, but ventured forward far too often after the break and left huge spaces in Swansea's midfield. (5/10)

Jonjo Shelvey: Swansea's best player in the first half, and should have had an assist, but he struggled majorly with the tricky Ozil throughout the second period. (5/10)

Gylffi Sigurdsson: The dead-ball specialist bellied his reputation with a number of poor deliveries from corners and free kicks. (4/10)

Jefferson Montero: Just like he did in this fixture last season, Montero tormented the Gunners for the first half, but the Ecuador international disappeared after the break. (6/10)

Attack

Bafetimbi Gomis: Perhaps cost Swansea a result after missing two excellent chances in the first half - including a one-on-one. Did nothing after the break. (3/10)

Substitutes

Leon Briton: Very little impact. (4/10)



ARSENAL

Goal

Petr Cech: Some excellent moments in the second half, including one fine save to keep out Sigurdsson. (6/10)

Defence

Hector Bellerin: Some good and bad moments from the Spaniard, who struggled with Montero in both halves, but did deny Gomis a certain first-half goal with an excellent last-ditch tackle. (6/10)

Per Mertesacker: Given the nod over Gabriel in a selection which was fortunate not to backfire on Wenger after the German struggled big time. Better in the second half. (5/10)

Laurent Koscielny: Spared Mertesacker's blushes at times, but Koscielny was also guilty of playing Swansea forwards onside on a host of occasions, but made amends with the second and arguably killer goal - albeit with a hint of controversy. (6/10)

Nacho Monreal: Missed a good first-half chance and often neglected his defensive duties, leaving his defensive teammates vulnerable on the counter-attack. (4/10)

Midfield

Joel Campbell: Started really well on a day when Wenger challenged him to sink or swim, but the Costa Rican faded for a while, before adding a third goal on 74 minutes. Not a great performance, but that will do him the world of good. (6/10)

Francis Coquelin: Was nowhere to be seen at times as Swansea exploited major gaps between the Gunners' defence and midfield. (5/10)

Santi Cazorla: Fizzed some excellent corners into the box, but did very little else in a lukewarm display from the Spaniard. (5/10)

Mesut Ozil: Relatively anonymous in the first half but the German produced a classy second-half display and bagged an assist for Giroud's opener. (7/10)

Alexis Sanchez: Very quiet first half by his own sky-high standards and the game more or less passed him by. He was manhandled in both halves and the physical approach seemed to work wonders. (4/10)

Attack

Olivier Giroud: Spurned a glorious first-half chance, but made amends with some excellent movement to direct the opening goal past Fabianski. Also played a big role in the second by pressuring former Arsenal teammate Fabianski into the error. (7/10)

Substitutes

Calum Chambers: Helped shore up Arsenal's defence late on as they cruised toward the win. (6/10)

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Garry Monk manager of Swansea City looks on ahead of the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on October 4, 2015 in Swansea, Wales.
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