Premier League – Michu double hands Swansea shock win at Arsenal

Michu scored twice in the dying minutes as Swansea strode to a comfortable 2-0 win over a poor Arsenal side at the Emirates Stadium.
Swansea were well worth their first away win over Arsenal in 30 years as Michu increased his tally to 10 in the Premier League this season. He joins Fernando Torres as the only Spanish player to reach double figures in the Premier League before New Year.
The only major surprise from this match was how Swansea managed to take until the 88th minute to find the opening goal against a home side utterly devoid of urgency or ideas for large swathes of the afternoon.
Michu finished Arsenal off on the counter attack a minute into three added on by referee Mark Clattenburg after he had been sent speeding clear from a Nathan Dyer tackle on Carl Jenkinson.
It was little wonder some home fans called for home manager Arsene Wenger to resign after such a listless display ended amid a predictable array of boos.
It was the most noise the home fans had managed all day from an eminently forgettable afternoon.
Wenger bounded up the tunnel seconds after shaking hands with the visiting manager Michael Laudrup, whose side are now up to seventh in the table at the expense of Arsenal after providing a fabulous example of passing football and no little work ethic.
Swansea were clearly buoyant after their 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in midweek.
They wasted little time in cutting open Arsenal with Angel Rangel forcing Wojciech Szczesny to make a couple of stops after Ashley Williams had fresh aired an attempted volley from five yards out.
Dyer then spurned a glorious chance on 28 minutes as he dashed through the middle from a brilliant headed flick by Michu only to hesitate as Thomas Vermaelen made a fine recovery tackle.
Arsenal’s first chance of the day saw Gervinho fail to direct a free header at goal two minutes before half-time.
Wenger’s team looked a bit brighter after half-time with Santi Cazorla seeing a couple of shots held by the underused Gerhard Tremmel in the visiting goal.
But Swansea showed their menace on 62 minutes when Rangel raced into the home area only to see Szczesny dive to his left to make a fine save.
Arsenal might have benefited from a rare moment of sloppy Swansea play, but Chico Flores did just enough to get a touch on the ball in tackling substitute Olivier Giroud on 70 minutes.
Arsenal appealed for a penalty and a certain red card for Flore, but replays showed referee Mark Clattenburg had made the right decision with the Swansea man clearly touching the ball before Giroud.
The introduction of Luke Moore and Dwight Tiendalli in the closing 23 minutes only added to the adventure of the visiting side.
Moore picked out Michu on 72, but his shot from a tight angle was halted by Szczesny.
Szczesny was then forced to produce a solid save to deny Tiendalli after he was played in by Moore with Arsenal again cut wide open.
Vermaelen saw a header drop straight into the arms of Tremmel from Ki’s deflected header with four minutes left, but it would have been undeserved if Swansea had fell behind.
They finally made their slick passing game count when Michu slid the ball into the net from inside the home box after a lovely pass from Moore before he fittingly concluded his side’s business for the day when he finished low and hard after Arsenal had pressed in vain for an unlikely equaliser.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Michu (Swansea) – Two fine finishes from the Spanish player, who continues to look better and better. Just gets the nod ahead of team-mates Ashley Williams and Angel Rangel who were equally dependable under pressure.
PLAYER RATINGS
Arsenal: Szczesny 6, Jenkinson 5, Mertesacker 5, Vermaelen 5 Gibbs 5, Arteta 5, Wilshere 5, Cazorla 5, Walcott 6, Podolski 4, Gervinho 4..subs: Rosicky 6, Oxlade-Chamberlain 6, Giroud 6
Swansea: Tremmel 7, Rangel 8, Williams 8, Chico 8, Davies 7, Britton 7, de Guzman 6, Ki 7, Dyer 8, Michu 9, Shechter 6..subs: Tiendalli 7, Moore 8