Paul Clement remains upbeat about Swansea City’s ability to move away from the relegation zone, despite their defeat at Arsenal.
The Swans lost 2-1 after Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey struck the winner and the visitors could now find themselves in the bottom three on Sunday if Everton avoid defeat at Leicester.
But with a key home game next when Brighton come to the Liberty Stadium, Clement insisted there was sufficient in the display against the Gunners – where Swansea took the lead – for him to be positive.
“There have been games this season where we have not played at the right level and we have not got the result,” said Clement.
“But you can’t say that about today’s performance. Maybe we will play at a similar level in the near future and get the result we are looking for.”
Sam Clucas had given the visitors the lead at the Emirates in the first-half, only for two quick-fire Arsenal goals from Sead Kolasinac and Ramsey in the second-half to turn things around.
But Clement added: “I liked a lot of things about the performance today.
“We’ve played in games recently where our performances and results haven’t been so good, and the results not so good either.
“Today the performance was better and I think we possibly deserved more than we got.
“They’ve got so much quality in and around the area, playing those little one-touch balls, give and go, and we just couldn’t contain them in the second half.”
The Swans are now teetering on the edge of the relegation zone after winning just one of their last seven league games, but the manager insists his side must take the positives going into crucial games against Brighton, Burnley and Bournemouth.
Clement said: “We knew we’d be under pressure in certain periods in the game, but up until the half we looked good. There were just some details in our defending; all the things we did well in the first half we didn’t do in the second.
“The more and more the game went on, we were a bit more offensive, but couldn’t quite get that chance to get an equaliser.
“Of course they’re disappointed. We came here with confidence. Clearly, we’re not happy with the result, but we’ve got to draw upon some of the things we did in the first half and get ready for the next game.”
