Defensively Strong Is The Key Says Monk

The Swans completed a league double over the Gunners last season thanks to a 2-1 win at the Liberty that was followed up by a superb 1-0 win at the Emirates towards the end of the season.

It completed a league double over both Arsenal and Manchester United in the same season – only the third team to manage that in the Premier League era – and with a win over United already under our belts this season we can extend what is now most of the remarkable runs in the history of the division.

Monk though knows that it will never be easy when you are up against an Arsenal side and he is warning his side that they need to be strong defensively if they are to extend that record and wants more of the same as last year’s two games

“In those games we have set up well,” Monk says.

“We have understood the game we needed to play to beat them, and we’ve produced the performance level to warrant the results we’ve got.

“When you play Arsenal, you have to accept that they will have periods of possession and they will have spells when they are on the attack.

“In those periods, we have to defend well. And when the time comes for us to attack, we have to be effective.

“The reality is that if we play at our best and they play at their best, they should win the game,” he says.

“The squad they have is far superior to ours in terms of what’s been spent and the level of players they’ve got.

“As I said after we won the game at Arsenal last season, they are highly likely to win if you go toe to toe with them and both sides play at their best.

“So we have to come up with our own ways to compete that will allow us to always be in the game.”

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