It's a break from the Premier League this weekend as teams compete in the FA Cup. A cup which no doubt we'd all like to see us lift at the end of the season but to even think about that we first need to overcome Swansea. It will be a tough match and make no mistake Swansea will be up for it.
When the draw was first made for this, I wasn't particularly looking forward to it and I'm still not. Swansea will be buoyed from their result against us earlier in the season when the ever-dangerous Michu bagged a late brace to secure the points. That day we looked flat and deflated much like we did at the weekend against Southampton, we can't afford another performance like that.
Swansea have been really hit and miss this season, they've had some great performances, some average performances and some really poor performances. Much like ourselves. If both teams tomorrow go out and are on form, it has the potential to be a great match. If one of us is off and the other team is fired up, it'll be a bloodbath. I expect us to start a similar team to the one that started against Southampton. I don't see Wenger resting players in a match like this. So I expect it to be something like: SZCZ, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Ox, Poldi, Walcott.
Obviously the main threat from Swansea is Michu who has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season. But we can't look past Danny Graham and Wayne Routledge who can also scored when they feel like it. It will be an open game tomorrow as both teams like to play the passing game. However accuracy is a must, we can't afford to be sloppy with possession against a team like Swansea who won't give us a lot of the ball. We need to keep it tight, which are more than capable of doing given the day.
Tomorrow's match is a vitally important one for us and although a cup means more matches, when it comes down to it a cup run can lift spirits and even kick a team on to better things in other competitions. Let's hope we turn up and go all out.
Predition: Swansea 1-2 Arsenal
