Paul Clement Rues Calamitous Defensive Display in Swansea's 4-0 Drubbing by Arsenal

Published on: 14 January 2017

"?Paul Clement has insisted that Swansea City must keep plugging away if they are to beat the drop following Saturday's 4-0 defeat to Arsenal.


The Jacks fell to another Premier League defeat in Clement's first match in charge in England's top flight, and the ex-Bayern Munich assistant was left ruing his side's capitulation after the Gunners notched their second of the afternoon early in the second half.


Speaking to the "?club's website at full-time, Clement remained defiant in his belief that Swansea could somehow haul themselves out of danger, though he admitted doing so would be a tall order.

He said: "We all know the task in front of us is a very hard one, but we are all up for it. 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."?

Paul Clement's dressing room team-talk is bleeding through the walls of the media room. No words, just "sounds" - loud "sounds".

Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez scored either side of two own goals from the home outfit in front of their own fans, and Clement stated that it was tough to receive such a scoreline during only his second match in charge.


He continued: "It's not enjoyable to get beaten by that kind of scoreline. 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."


Speaking in more detail about that controversial decision, Clement added that he thought his side should have had a spot kick for the foul on Ki Sung Yeung by Laurent Koscielny.


He said: "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."

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