14/01/2017 15:00 v Arsenal

The Swans went down to a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal, with two own goals seeing Paul Clement's first home game end on a losing note.

The new head coach, taking in his first league game in charge, saw his side make a bright start at the Liberty, only for some slack marking to allow Olivier Giroud to fire the Gunners ahead after 37 minutes.

The Swans thought they had been awarded a penalty a minute before the break, only for referee Mike Jones to book Ki Sung-Yueng after he went down under Laurent Koscielny's challenge.

But the Gunners pushed on after the break, and two own goals really killed off the Swans' hopes of getting anything from the game.

First, Alex Iwobi's shot deflected off Jack Cork and looped over Lukasz Fabianski, then another Iwobi effort struck Kyle Naughton and deflected in.

The luck was clearly not on the hosts' side, and their miserable afternoon was made worse when Alexis Sanchez directed Aaron Ramsey's strike into the net fora fourth.

Other results saw the Swans drop to joint bottom of the league, with 15 points from 21 games.

The Swans made a lively start at the Liberty, with Kyle Naughton seeing his low drive tipped wide by Petr Cech at full stretch.

From the resulting corner, the headed clearance dropped to Jack Cork, but the Swans skipper failed to make a clean connection as his scuffed effort dropped over the crossbar.

Gylfi Sigurdsson then fired a 20-yard effort inches over the crossbar after being teed up by Wayne Routledge.

At the other end, Alexis Sanchez drove a powerful, dipping effort goalwards but Lukasz Fabianski did well to gather down low.

Arsenal looked dangerous on the ball, with their movement and crisp passing a big threat.

But the Swans were left kicking themselves after falling behind in the 37th minute.

After Nathan Dyer lost possession, Arsenal surged on and when Sanchez's cross found the unmarked Mesut Ozil eight yards out, his header struck Alfie Mawson to allow Olivier Giroud an easy close-range finish.

It was harsh on the home side, who immediately went in search of an equaliser.

They thought they had a good shout for a penalty when Ki Sung-Yueng went down under Laurent Koscielny, but referee Mike Jones opted to book the South Korean.

The Swans kept probing, and their pressing almost paid dividends when Dyer intercepted a pass only to fail to find the target with his resulting shot.

After the break, the Gunners were in total control.

And a big slice of fortune helped them double their lead as Alex Iwobi's low shot deflected off Jack Cork and looped over the despairing Fabianski.

It was cruel on the Swans, but Clement's side couldn't afford to feel sorry for themselves.

However, a second own goal soon followed. Another Iwobi shot, another deflection - this time the unlucky Swan being Naughton.

The goal effectively ended the game, with Arsenal totally controlling matters.

And, to make matters worse, Sanchez added another with 17 minutes remaining as he directed Aaron Ramsey's shot past the helpless Fabianski.

 

SWANS: Lukasz Fabianski, Kyle Naughton, Federico Fernandez, Alfie Mawson, Stephen Kingsley, Jack Cork (capt, Oli McBurnie, 70), Ki Sung-Yueng, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Nathan Dyer (Leroy Fer, 55), Wayne Routledge, Fernando Llorente (Borja, 70).
SUBS: Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Angel Rangel, Mike van der Hoorn, Jay Fulton.

ARSENAL: Petr Cech, Gabriel, Laurent Koscielny (capt), Alexis Sanchez (Danny Welbeck, 79), Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil (Lucas Perez, 79), Olivier Giroud (Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain, 60), Alex Iwobi, Nacho Monreal, Shkodran Mustafi, Granit Xhaka.
SUBS: David Ospina, Rob Holding, Jeff Adelaide, Ainsley Maitland-Niles