Arsenal 1-2 Swansea: Alan Curtis hopes sensational win will serve as springboard to avoid relegation

Swansea coach Alan Curtis hopes the sensational 2-1 victory at Arsenal on 2 March will give his side a boost of confidence in their battle to avoid relegation. Curtis, nevertheless, believes that the next three games against Norwich, Bournemouth and Aston Villa will "define" the season for the Swans.

The Wales side, which missed boss Francesco Guidolin through illness, managed to react to Joel Campbell's early opener to secure three crucial points thanks to goals from Wayne Routledge and Ashley Williams. The victory leaves them at the 16<sup>th spot of the Premier League table, six points above the relegation zone.

Curtis hopes the win could serve Swansea as a springboard ahead of the three crucial coming games, as they face struggling Norwich on the weekend before facing two other clubs involved in the relegation battle - Bournemouth and Aston Villa.

"Sometimes you play against teams and have a good record. Against Arsenal, it's the type of football we seem to play well against. We enjoy playing against them. It's always a good game and we've enjoyed some good results," the coach said after beating Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last season.

"But irrespective of tonight's result, we have three big games coming up. We have three massive fixtures against Norwich, Bournemouth and Aston Villa, which will probably define our season. We must build on this."

Curtis, meanwhile, praised his side's attitude after he made six changes to the side which lost at Tottenham on weekend.

"The boys were excellent tonight," said Curtis. "We set a standard tonight and we need to keep it going. It was a chance for some of the players coming in this evening, and they grabbed their opportunity and have given the manager a problem.

"Tonight was a reminder that we're still a good football team. We passed the ball well in the second half and played good football."