Paul Clement: Swansea City must get better

Paul Clement has told Swansea City they must keep on improving after his Liberty bow ended in a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal.

The scoreline did not tell the whole story, for the Swans gave as good as they got in the first period and were unlucky to go in at half-time 1-0 down.

But the Swans fell away in the second period as Arsenal upped the tempo, and ultimately the hosts were well beaten.

It was a tough Liberty baptism for Clement, but he is bullish about the battle ahead.

"We all know the task in front of us is a very hard one, but we are all up for it," the Swans' new head coach said.

"I believe there are games where we are not expected to win - that's maybe one of them today - and then there are games when we have to win.

"We have to make sure that when those games come around, we are in tip-top form going into them.

"At Crystal Palace, the players knew they had to win and they did. We have to really focus on that.

"This game, Liverpool away, Southampton home and Manchester City away is a tough run, but we have got to make sure we are improving our performances in these games."

The Swans looked good for much of the 45 minutes against Arsenal, pressing their opponents hard and looking well organised defensively.

They also caused some problems for Arsene Wenger's defence, but it was the Gunners who opened the scoring shortly before half-time through Olivier Giroud.

The Swans then saw a big penalty appeal turned down, when Ki Sung-Yueng was booked for simulation after a challenge from Laurent Koscielny.

In the second half, Arsenal took control. Their second goal came when Alex Iwobi's effort deflected off Jack Cork and over Lukasz Fabianski for an own goal.

Next Kyle Naughton put through his own net, the right-back inadvertently sending Iwobi's cross past Lukasz Fabianski, before Alexis Sanchez rounded off the scoring 17 minutes from the end.

"It's not enjoyable to get beaten by that kind of scoreline," Clement added.

"I was hoping for a lot better. In the first half I thought the game was fairly even.

"Our defensive shape looked good and they were not really creating clear-cut opportunities. 

"Their goal came from a counter-attack when we were pushing forward a little bit and the last action was a bit of luck for them.

"We then had a big penalty claim. I thought it had been given initially, then when I spoke to the player, Ki, at half-time, he told me there was contact and it was a penalty.

"I have watched all the angles after the game - the referee doesn't get that chance - and also Koscielny's reaction, and it's a penalty."



He added: "The disappointment in the first half for me was our offensive play. We were wasteful when we won the ball back and didn't show enough quality in the final third.

"Then they scored two deflected goals and after that it's very difficult to come back against a team like Arsenal."

Clement revealed the Swans are set to complete deals for Norwich left-back Martin Olsson and Tottenham midfielder Tom Carroll.

"They are very close pending medicals and paperwork," he said.