Swans have to be at their best against Arsenal, says Monk

(Reuters) – Swansea City will have to be at their very best if they are to get a result against an in-form Arsenal, manager Garry Monk has said ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash.

The Swans, who did the double over Arsenal last season, beat Aston Villa last weekend for their first league win since August.

The Gunners, on the other hand, have won five of their last six games and will be looking to bounce back after their shock 3-0 defeat by Championship side Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup on Tuesday.

“They have had a fantastic start to the season. They have an excellent squad full of world-class talent and they are definite title contenders,” Monk told reporters at his pre-match news conference.

“We’ve had some good games against them in recent years and had two good results against them last season.

“We know that when we are at our best we can give anyone a game in this league and we’ll need to be at that level on Saturday. If we do that we are in with a chance of getting the result we want,” he added.

The 36-year-old was confident his side can build on their early season promise and come out of their current slump.

“There are no easy games in the Premier League. Of course you want to play at your best, but when you don’t its still important to pick up points,” Monk said.

“Each team will have a period where they will suffer and its about how you deal with that. Winning games obviously breeds confidence but this group is very strong,” he added.

The Gunners are currently second in the table on 22 points, behind Manchester City on goal difference, while Swansea lie 12th.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)