Arsenal vs Swansea

Preview by Mirror co uk
Arsene Wenger says Jack Wilshere will have to wait before being given a break - because Arsenal just cannot do without him.
Wilshere finished Sunday's defeat to Manchester City battered and bruised, but Gunners manager Wenger claims it would be unthinkable to give him a breather on Wednesday, when they face Swansea in an FA Cup third-round replay.
England midfielder Wilshere has been virtually an ever-present after returning from his 17-month injury nightmare at the end of October, and played the full 90 minutes when the two sides drew 2-2 in the original tie 10 days ago.
Wenger had promised to ease the 21-year-old back gently after claiming Wilshere was in the "red zone" when he suffered his career-threatening injury in 2011.
But, with Arsenal facing a run of fixtures which will determine their season, Wenger insists that Wilshere MUST play.
"Maybe not in this period, at some stage I will do it (give him a rest). At the moment I don't think he is overloaded because he just came back very recently, and you get the feeling he gets stronger," said the Frenchman.
"We have a good approach taking the physical analysis and statistical analysis between what the player feels and what the medical department thinks, and you have to come to a conclusion on that.
"At the moment, all these three are positives so I don't think at the moment I will rest him immediately. But it will happen."
Wilshere, outstanding against City even in defeat, was on the receiving end of the Vincent Kompany tackle which earned the City skipper a red card that was overturned on Tuesday.
Wenger admitted that Wilshere is an obvious target, but also heaped praise on his midfield dynamo.
He agreed with Gunners captain Thomas Vermaelen's assessment earlier in the week that Wilshere is world class, and claimed they will not set any barriers as to how good he can become.
"Let's not set any limitations. What is important is the day he will have made his career and thinks, 'I have been as good as I could have hoped to be,'" said Wenger.
"I have managed many great players in my life, the one common thing in their careers is that they always wanted to improve. Every day, they had 100 per cent focus. That is the only thing I can say about the players I have had who were top talents, they had that basic attitude right.
"He has a low centre of gravity, he uses it well and gets in front of people. When you provoke people, sometimes you get hit (by tackles). That can happen.
"Of course I agree (with Vermaelen). I believe the most important thing is that he has talent and loves football. As long as he loves football, he will improve.
"So let's keep that kind of important ingredient in the development of a player right, and not make them feel that they have nothing to grow for. Jack is someone who wants to improve, he has a good attitude and if he keeps that he will always continue to grow.
"He is only 21, he has only be back for a short period of time after 17 months out, so I believe in England the way to protect the players is to just let them develop naturally and not put too much pressure on them.
"Here, the expectation level is so high individually on players that they are not in a normal development, sometimes there is so much focus on them that I feel it is a handicap."
Wenger has praised Arsenal's fans for sticking with the team despite their recent unpredictable results and admitted it is crunch time for their season.
Arsenal travel to Chelsea on Sunday, and also face Liverpool and West Ham before the end of the month.
Wenger, who is likely to tinker but still field a strong line-up against a Swansea side who have already won at the Emirates this season, added: "I want us to please the fans, not the other way round. But the fans can have a positive input and help the team on that front.
"The fans were good (against City) - they were with us until the end. You cannot fault the fans.
"We want to transform our desire into a positive attitude and that's what is at stake. It is pure football, it is where the fate and the destiny of the teams are decided.
"At the moment, they (Swansea) play difficult away games, against Chelsea and against Everton, but overall they are a good team.
"Like many teams, they score more goals at home than away, but it is a cup game, so there is not much home or away - you just go for it.
"What is important is that we are at our best, that we score goals. That is what we want to focus on."

Block Swans: Laudrup delighted by defensive strength

Sea of Swans: Saturday's clean sheet was Swansea's second on the spin

Alex Livesey

 By Phil Cadden
Michael Laudrup used to tear some of the best defence’s apart in world football while playing for Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Now, the Swansea boss boasts the joint meanest away defensive record in the Premier League - alongside Arsenal, who the Welsh side visit on Wednesday for an FA Cup replay.
The Swans have conceded just nine goals on their travels this season, and have kept back-to-back clean sheets at Chelsea in the Capital One Cup semi-final win last Wednesday and Saturday’s trip to Everton.
Laudrup insists his resilient back-line can deliver a hat-trick of shut-outs and book a tie at Brighton in the next round.
“We have shown throughout the season, but particularly in the last two games, how solid we are," said the Dane. "I’ve been a bit surprised by how solid we have looked defending deep.
“Against Chelsea it is one thing, as they don’t play many balls into the box, but Everton do, with a lot of big guys up there, and we did great. And that is really good to see.
“In 11 away games, we have only conceded nine goals - which is quite good for a manager who always played up front.”
Swansea also produced a water-tight defensive performance in the 2-0 league win at the Emirates last month.
And Laudrup reckons all the pressure will be on Arsenal as his side aim to secure an incredible fifth win in the capital this season, following successes at QPR, Fulham and Chelsea.
Laudrup added: “I like London, as we’ve only lost to Tottenham. We’ve done really well there.”
Swansea have completed an 18-month loan deal for Osasuna attacker Roland Lamah, who revealed his Belgian compatriot Eden Hazard convinced him to join them after playing against Laudrup's men for Chelsea.
Lamah, who is ineligible to face Arsenal, said: “I’m friends with Hazard and spoke to him before making my decision. He said he thinks I will feel good here.”