Arsenal's Per Mertesacker wary of Swansea City's quality

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has admitted that winning against Swansea City at the Emirates on Saturday will not be easy.

The German centre-back says that the Gunners need to stick to their "normal gameplan" to pick up maximum points from the fixture.

"They are playing well - they have good possession and are doing similarly to last year, when they were impressive," he told the Official Matchday Programme.

"It's important that we keep to our normal gameplan and be ready to do something right from the start, especially in the final third of the pitch.

"Swansea are a good, technical side - they can play shorter and longer balls to good effect. But we have to look at our game first and improve on the Everton performance (a 1-1 draw). We have to respect our game as well as that of the opponent."

Arsenal are just a point ahead of Swansea in seventh place in the league standings.