• Cork: ‘When the crowd turn on you it makes it hard to play’ • Welsh side’s 2-1 away win continued fine run of results at Emirates

Jack Cork has suggested that Swansea City exploited the anxiety of the Arsenal support at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night en route to their morale-boosting 2-1 victory.

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The midfielder, who added sheen to a fine individual performance with the assist for Wayne Routledge’s 32nd-minute equaliser, said the Swansea coach, Alan Curtis, had brought up the mood of the home crowd in his half-time team-talk.

The Arsenal fans became increasingly frustrated as the second half wore on, as their team groped for solutions and failed to cope with the pressure that was on them. They vented their anger when Arsène Wenger substituted Joel Campbell, their best player on the night, and it was no great surprise when Ashley Williams scored Swansea’s winning goal in the 74th minute.

Of Curtis’s pep-talk, Cork recalled: “At half-time, Alan just said: ‘We have a good opportunity at 1-1’. He said he could sense the crowd were turning on them and everyone has big expectation to do well. You could sense it – if we could get on top of them, we could nick it. We’ve had a pattern at the Emirates and we managed to do it again.

“Arsenal had Sánchez, Özil, Giroud, Ramsey; such good quality. But when the crowd turn on you, it makes it hard to play. We’ve had it at certain times this season, when we weren’t doing too well and it does affect your confidence, at times.”

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Williams added: “We were just concentrating on what was happening on the pitch. When you’re playing away, it is a bit different and you don’t notice so much what is going on [with the crowd]. When you’re at home, you know if it is toxic.”

It was Swansea’s third Premier League victory at the Emirates in the last four seasons – the other fixture was a draw – and it fired their belief that they will stay up before a crucial series of games. They play Norwich City at home on Saturday, and then it is Bournemouth away and Aston Villa at home.

“We’re not as good as Arsenal but it’s the type of football that we tend to shine against,” Curtis said. “If teams want to play football against us, we are more than happy to play against them. The problems we get are when teams launch crosses and set pieces and whatever but a team like Arsenal – we have always enjoyed playing against them. It becomes a good football match for us.”

Curtis said he had felt the tension in the home crowd, but added: “You get it at every ground these days. Maybe fans are a little bit more impatient – they certainly have been with us. It’s something, as the away team, that you try to play on. Obviously, we could feel a bit of frustration at the end. But concentration has to be on ourselves.”