Arsenal are on the closing straight. The title may be gone but they still have two big aims to play for. An FA Cup Final awaits, and they also have a chance of finishing second in the Premier League for the first time in a decade.
That would be a significant landmark for the Gunners, as it would send them into next season as Chelsea's closest challengers. After a poor start effectively ruled them out of this year's title race, focus is already shifting to righting those wrongs in the next campaign.
Swansea still have a chance to qualify for Europe through the Europa League, though whether or not that would be a good thing for them is uncertain. European competition can prove an unsatisfying distraction for clubs in the middle third of the Premier League.
With Arsenal seemingly the more motivated of the two clubs, they'll be strong favourites for this tie at the Emirates Stadium.
Date: Monday, May 11
Time: 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
TV Info: NBCSN (U.S.), Sky Sports 1 (UK)
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), Sky Go (UK)
Form Guide (last five results of both teams)
Arsenal:
W (1-3) vs. Hull City
D (0-0) vs. Chelsea
W (1-2) vs. Reading
W (0-1) vs. Burnley
W (4-1) vs. Liverpool
Swansea City:
W (2-0) vs. Stoke City
W (2-3) vs. Newcastle United
L (2-0) vs. Leicester City
D (1-1) vs. Everton
W (3-1) vs. Hull City
Arsenal are on a tremendous run, having won nine out of their last 10 Premier League games. The only team to stop them picking up three points in that sequence were champions Chelsea.
Swansea have also been finishing strongly, with just one defeat in their last six league fixtures. Garry Monk told the BBC their last match against Stoke produced a "complete performance," so there will be no shortage of confidence in their ranks.
Team News
Arsenal will still be without Mikel Arteta, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mathieu Debuchy and Danny Welbeck. The team is likely to be identical to the one that faced Hull if Aaron Ramsey comes through a late fitness test.
Swansea will welcome back Bafetimbi Gomis. However, Portuguese forward Nelson Oliveira has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
Predicted Arsenal XI: David Ospina; Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal; Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla; Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Olivier Giroud
Predicted Swansea XI: Lukasz Fabianski; Angel Rangel, Federico Fernandez, Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor; Jack Cork, Jonjo Shelvey; Nathan Dyer, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jefferson Montero; Bafetimbi Gomis
Players to Watch
Arsenal: Santi Cazorla
In Arsenal's last game at Hull, Santi Cazorla pulled the strings from deep in the midfield. Playing in that role, he is granted time to look up and pick out pinpoint passes to the attackers ahead.
Swansea will have to work hard to shut Cazorla down. If he is granted space, he will take them apart.
This will be Lukasz Fabianski's first visit to the Emirates Stadium since leaving Arsenal for Swansea last summer. The Pole has enjoyed an impressive first campaign in Wales, even superseding Wojciech Szczesny as Poland's No. 1.
He'll be particularly keen to impress against his former employers. Arsenal's strikers may have to be at their best to find a way past the spring-heeled shot-stopper.
James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.
(source: http://bleacherreport.com/)
That would be a significant landmark for the Gunners, as it would send them into next season as Chelsea's closest challengers. After a poor start effectively ruled them out of this year's title race, focus is already shifting to righting those wrongs in the next campaign.
Swansea still have a chance to qualify for Europe through the Europa League, though whether or not that would be a good thing for them is uncertain. European competition can prove an unsatisfying distraction for clubs in the middle third of the Premier League.
With Arsenal seemingly the more motivated of the two clubs, they'll be strong favourites for this tie at the Emirates Stadium.
Date: Monday, May 11
Time: 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
TV Info: NBCSN (U.S.), Sky Sports 1 (UK)
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), Sky Go (UK)
Form Guide (last five results of both teams)
Arsenal:
W (1-3) vs. Hull City
D (0-0) vs. Chelsea
W (1-2) vs. Reading
W (0-1) vs. Burnley
W (4-1) vs. Liverpool
Swansea City:
W (2-0) vs. Stoke City
W (2-3) vs. Newcastle United
L (2-0) vs. Leicester City
D (1-1) vs. Everton
W (3-1) vs. Hull City
Arsenal are on a tremendous run, having won nine out of their last 10 Premier League games. The only team to stop them picking up three points in that sequence were champions Chelsea.
Swansea have also been finishing strongly, with just one defeat in their last six league fixtures. Garry Monk told the BBC their last match against Stoke produced a "complete performance," so there will be no shortage of confidence in their ranks.
Team News
Arsenal will still be without Mikel Arteta, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mathieu Debuchy and Danny Welbeck. The team is likely to be identical to the one that faced Hull if Aaron Ramsey comes through a late fitness test.
Swansea will welcome back Bafetimbi Gomis. However, Portuguese forward Nelson Oliveira has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
Predicted Arsenal XI: David Ospina; Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal; Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla; Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Olivier Giroud
Predicted Swansea XI: Lukasz Fabianski; Angel Rangel, Federico Fernandez, Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor; Jack Cork, Jonjo Shelvey; Nathan Dyer, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jefferson Montero; Bafetimbi Gomis
Players to Watch
Arsenal: Santi Cazorla
In Arsenal's last game at Hull, Santi Cazorla pulled the strings from deep in the midfield. Playing in that role, he is granted time to look up and pick out pinpoint passes to the attackers ahead.
Swansea will have to work hard to shut Cazorla down. If he is granted space, he will take them apart.
This will be Lukasz Fabianski's first visit to the Emirates Stadium since leaving Arsenal for Swansea last summer. The Pole has enjoyed an impressive first campaign in Wales, even superseding Wojciech Szczesny as Poland's No. 1.
He'll be particularly keen to impress against his former employers. Arsenal's strikers may have to be at their best to find a way past the spring-heeled shot-stopper.
James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.
(source: http://bleacherreport.com/)
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