Swansea 2 Arsenal 2: We showed courage to get late leveller – Laudrup

Michael Laudrup praised Swansea City for showing “great courage” after Danny Graham’s late goal salvaged a draw against Arsenal in their FA Cup third-round clash.

After a tight first half, Laudrup introduced Michu as a substitute, and the Spaniard scored within a minute of coming on after out-pacing Laurent Koscielny.

However, Lukas Podolski equalised in the 81st minute to restore parity before Kieran Gibbs’ superb effort appeared to have booked the Gunners’ place in the fourth round.

But Danny Graham salvaged a draw for the Swans at the Liberty Stadium in the 86th minute when he fired a loose ball high past Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny from a Swansea corner.

“A replay wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, especially with the two League Cup games against Chelsea in mind and the league games coming up,” said Laudrup.

“It’s a very tight schedule. But a replay is better than a defeat. It always matters if you lose a game so a replay is another big games to look forward to.

“The main feeling is that it was a fair result. We had the best chance in the first half with a good shot from Danny Graham and then took the lead through Michu. They scored two late goals but we showed great courage to come back at the end.”