Arsenal take on Swansea City in their 28th game of the Premier League 2015-16 at the Emirates Wednesday.
The Gunners are six points behind league leaders Leicester City, who Tuesday recorded a 2-2 draw against West Brom. Therefore, Arsenal know their match against Swansea is very important if they want to get back to the top of the table.
Apart from Leicester, Arsenal's North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur are also proving a major scare to their title hopes. The Spurs are second in the table with 54 points, and three more in their game against West Ham United can take them to the top of the table for the first time this season.
Arsenal come into this game at the back of a 3-2 defeat against Manchester United last weekend, and it has left some fans disgruntled. Arsene Wenger has however clarified the season has not ended and there is still a long way to go.
"What you want from your fans is to fight together until the last game of the season," the Arsenal boss was quoted by The Guardian as saying. "The league is very tight, everybody can drop points, and the teams — and the fans — who can show togetherness and solidarity until the end, might come out of it in a positive way. That's what we want — not to give up when you have a bad game or a bad result."
Danny Welbeck, who scored one of the goals for the Gunners in the game, is doubtful to appear against Swansea as he has just returned after a long injury layoff. "I will have to see if I have to be cautious with Welbeck or not," Wenger said.
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, however, will not play in the game. The England winger has been ruled out for up to eight weeks owing to a knee injury, and it needs to be seen whether he will play again for Arsenal this season.
Swansea have no such problems, however; their problems are elsewhere. They are currently 16th in the table and have not won any of their last four matches. The recent form of the Swans may not be good but they hold a good record against Arsenal.
Swansea have remained unbeaten in their last three matches — two wins and a draw — against the Gunners at the Emirates.
"We've beaten them [Arsenal] twice and also drawn in the last three years, and we can certainly draw confidence from that," Swansea first-team coach Alan Curtis was quoted as saying by the BBC. "We knew how difficult these two away games [against Spurs in their last fixture] were going to be but we go to Arsenal with the same mindset and that is to try and win."
Where to watch live
Arsenal vs Swansea is scheduled to kick off at 7:45 p.m. GMT (1:15 a.m. IST, 2:45 am EST), March 2.
In India, viewers can catch the game on Star Sports 4. Online streaming will be available on Starsports.com and Hotstar.
In the UK and Ireland, there will be no TV broadcast of the game, but the match can be watched on Arsenal Player. Radio commentary will be available on TalkSport Radio World.
In the US, viewers can catch the game on Premier League Extra Time. Online streaming will be available on NBC Sports Live Extra. Radio commentary of the game will be available on Westwood One Sports.
The live scores can be followed on the Premier League Match Centre.
