Arsenal 0 Swansea 1. Arsenal, having been talked up as title contenders next season, reverted to type on Monday night as they suffered their first league defeat in 11 games and now find themselves eyeing a fourth placed finish in the Premier League yet again.
It was Swansea who inflicted the damage as a Bafetimbi Gomis header five minutes from time stole the three points for the visitors in front of a shocked Emirates.
'Steal' isn't putting too fine a point on it. Dominated by the Gunners after the interval, the Swans barely mustered a shot on goal in the second half as their hosts launched wave after wave of attack. But Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, discarded by Arsenal 12 months ago, was heroic in goal for the Welsh team, denying Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez with a string of fine saves.
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As the game approached the final five minutes Swansea were on the ropes and the Arsenal faithful sensed a knockout blow was coming. It was, but not from where they expected. In their first meaningful attack of the second half Swansea's Jefferson Montero found some space on the left flank and his precision cross was met by the head of Gomis, outjumping the static Arsenal defence.
It wasn't the most powerful header from the edge of the six yard box, but it was well-directed, bouncing just in front of the diving David Ospina. The Arsenal goalkeeper palmed the ball away and the Emirates breathed a sigh of relief. But referee Kevin Friend glanced at his watch and the goalline technology confirmed that the ball had indeed crossed the line. Ospina protested but television replays showed the ball just behind the line before Ospina pushed it clear.
Swansea survived four minutes of injury time to record a famous win (the first time they've won home and away league matches in the same season against Arsenal for 33 years) and Arsenal were left wondering how they'd lost a game they had so dominated.
"It's frustrating," admitted Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose side remain third, two points above Manchester United, who they play at Old Trafford on Sunday. "When you cannot win a game, don't lose it. We knew exactly what could happen. It was not even a break. We were warned of the kind of goal they could score with Montero kicking the ball in the air and we were short in jumping for the ball. For the rest we rushed our finishing because we had plenty of chances in the second half."
Wenger couldn't find the words to congratulate Swansea, saying instead that Arsenal had lost "to a team who refused to play completely and just defended". But defend they did, which is more than the Gunners did, making rather a mockery of Wenger's assertion in his pre-match press conference that he doesn't need to buy a central defender over the summer. He does, if he's serious about Arsenal launching a credible title challenge next season.
As it is, Arsenal now have a fight on their hands to finish third and not fourth, thereby avoiding the need to go through the Champions League qualification process in August. A win at Old Trafford on Sunday would ensure the Gunners finish above United but the last time Arsenal beat United away in the league was 2006. "What is crucial is to respond on Sunday and show that it was an accident today," said Wenger. "That is the most important thing."
