Arsenal vs. Swansea: Q&A

Football’s back! Yay! And with it comes the return of our Q&A series with opposing fans. Swansea City doesn’t have an SBN blog, but SBN does have a resident Swansea fan - Jon Nelson (@OSGNelson), who is also a reporter for SBN’s Atlanta United’s MLS blog, Dirty South Soccer. The team doesn’t start till next year, but the blog’s in full swing.

More pertinent to us, he is also a member of the Swansea Trust, so in a very real way we are talking with an owner of Swansea City Football Club. We asked him about the team’s start, its new additions, and a few other things as well. Away we, as they say, go!

TSF: After seven games, Swansea are 17th in the table. This obviously isn't the start the club was hoping for, but is it a shock, or did the summer's activity (or lack of) lead you to think it might be a rough start?

JN: Honestly, I had a feeling it would be a rough start... This rough...??? Not necessarily, but when you can't put the ball in the "back of the old onion bag" (as Tommy Smyth says), it's going to be a rough ride... You think we could pry that Donovan guy away from LA Galaxy long enough to help out after the January window...??? I mean, he IS part of the new ownership group...

TSF: Speaking of the summer (even though it's October), were fans happy with Swansea's buying and selling, or are there still gaps in the squad that need to be addressed?

JN: Happy...??? I don't think fans are ever truly happy in the Premier League- regardless of who you follow. The new TV contract opened up a lot of doors for folks, you would think, financially. But with an ownership group in flux and a desire to sell, the fiscal responsibility the club is known for had to stay that way- if not recede- until the owners were figured out.

Let's look at it:

IN: Borja Baston, from Atletico Madrid – £15.5 million; Mike van der Hoorn, from Ajax – undisclosed; Leroy Fer, from QPR – undisclosed fee; Fernando Llorente, from Sevilla – undisclosed

OUT: Ashley Williams, to Everton – £9 million; Eder, to Lille – £3.5 million; Andre Ayew, to West Ham United – £20.5 million; Alberto Paloschi, to Atalanta – undisclosed; Bafetimbi Gomis, to Marseille – loan; Kyle Bartley, to Leeds United – loan

Losing Williams, to me, was a bigger loss than Ayew- who always seemed to be trying to find a place that fit his skill set... Gomis...??? Great first impression and, then, his offense completely disappeared. I hope he finds his touch back home. I really do...

6 goals scored in 7 matches... that won't win you a whole lot of matches... and Fer has 4 of the 6

Ugh... So, I would say that there are still gaps that need to be filled...

TSF: The Inevitable American Question: What was the reaction to the Bob Bradley appointment?

JN: Completely dug it...

But, sadly, I think it took an American ownership group to make an American hire...

Now, as the fan in me says: "Isn't there another Bradley hanging around that the squad can use...???"

Until the end of the world, I think there will always be a stigma attached to any kind of "American" anything in dealing with a product outside the hemisphere...

I would like to think that Bradley, with all of his successes abroad, is viewed as a successful football coach first- regardless of birth certificate...

TSF: What does "Bob Bradley was a good choice for Swansea City" look like, results-wise, at the end of this season?

JN: This is going to sound a lot like last year after Garry Monk was let go in favor of Guidolin...

Survival first... and, then, work on any kind of table-climbing...

Nothing like discussing survival after only 7 matches in, right...??? But, if memory serves, Guidolin had them 12th by the end of it all...

TSF: How is Lukasz Fabianski doing?

JN: Other than, "saving our collective bacon?" Between the sticks is the one place on the pitch I am actually comfortable, but anyone back there will feel like they've been in target practice all season long...

TSF: Fill in the blank: if Arsenal want to beat Swansea, they must (blank)

JN: Lock the doors from the Dressing Area from the outside and have someone run away with the key- quickly...

Bonus questions: Predicted lineup and score prediction?

Score: 2-0

XI: I'm going all-defense...

Fabianski, Fabianski, Fabianski, Fabianski, Fabianski, Fabianski, Fabianski, Fabianski, Fabianski, Fabianski, Fabianski