Arsenal suffered a shocking defeat by Swansea City at the Emirates stadium denting their chances in the race for second place finish in the Premier League to Manchester City with just two games remaining.
The Gunners went into the game hoping to win to close the three-point gap which last season’s champions City have over them.
The first half of the game saw a compact Swansea side playing deep in their half with calculated counter attacks.
Wenger named the same starting XI for the fifth straight match, and the hosts had the first sight of goal when Olivier Giroud nodded Aaron Ramsey’s cross over the bar.
The half went on with both sides failing to create clear cut chances to trouble the goalkeepers on either side.
The second half saw Arsenal asserting themselves more on the game but Swansea commanded by their Skipper Ashley Williams were resolute in defence.
The gunners had most of the possession but were not sharp enough to trouble former Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
The Polish goalkeeper Fabianski- who joined Swansea in the close-season after a seven-year spell in north London was superb on the night.
He was excellent denying the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Nacho Monreal and Theo Walcott but it was Bafetimbi Gomis, a second-half substitute who propelled Gary Monk’s side to victory.
Gomis headed home an 85th-minute winner, with goalline technology showing the ball had crossed the line despite David Ospina‘s best efforts.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left to rue the missed chances of his side with Swansea not possessing much of a threat
“It’s frustrating because we lost a game where we were not under any threat to concede,” he told Sky Sports.
Arsenal will travel to old Traford for their next game against Manchester United on Sunday who can overtake the Gunners into third with victory.
Arsene Wenger urged his side not to let automatic Champions League qualification slip through their hands
‘It’s very important that we finish in the top three,’ stressed Wenger.
Meanwhile Swansea boosted their chances of qualifying for the Europa League by completing the double over Arsenal this season and going a point behind seventh-place Southampton.
Garry Monk the Swansea manager was pleased with his team sticking to their game plan.
“We could have come here and gone toe to toe but with the individual quality that Arsenal have, they could have maybe hurt us,” “We set up well with a game plan.” Monk said
Seventh place would secure a route into the Europa League if Arsenal beats Aston Villa in the FA Cup final.
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