Aaron Ramsey got Arsene Wenger off the hook with his 50th goal in an Arsenal shirt.

But amid all the multimillion pound signings, it was a man that cost nothing who emerged as the Gunners hero.

Sead Kolasinac stepped up with the equaliser just as a traumatic week for Arsenal threatened to get even worse.

The club hierarchy were battered at the annual general meeting last Thursday and Wenger himself revealed that his number could be up at the end of the season if his review went badly.

Add to the mix the ill-advised ­comment at that meeting from chief executive Ivan Gazidis that Arsenal had consistently “overperformed” and the vibes at the Emirates were not good.

The mood was not helped by a limp first-half display from which Swansea benefited on the counter-attack to lead at the interval. Not good for Arsenal. Not good for Wenger. And hardly justification of the assertion from Gazidis.

Wenger saw his side fall behind (
Image:
Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Kolasinac celebrates his equaliser (
Image:
Getty)
Before Ramsey handed the Gunners victory (
Image:
Dan Mullan)

Enter Kolasinac. A free transfer from Schalke, the muscular Bosnia ­international scored the leveller and set up the winner.

“He has settled quickly,” said Wenger. “Why? He has the physical power needed to play in the Premier League. And he has character.”

Wenger explained just why. “He had to come off before the end because he has a hip problem. He had it before the game and he decided he wanted to play. It was his decision.”

Kolasinac exits late on (
Image:
Action Images via Reuters)

In other words, he was just the individual Arsenal needed yesterday when the going got tough. Kolasinac certainly got going – and he needed to.

“We played well in the first half,” said Swansea manager Paul Clement. “You have to pay attention to every ­detail against Arsenal because of the ­attacking players they have and their movement around the box.

“We did that in the first half and we also scored on the counter-attack which is how we wanted it to go.”

That goal came in the 22nd minute after Laurent Koscielny slipped, the ball went to Tammy Abraham who released Sam Clucas to score at the near post.

Sam Clucas celebrates his opener (
Image:
Action Images via Reuters)

Lukasz Fabianski saved brilliantly from Alexis Sanchez – by the far the most potent Arsenal threat in the first half. He may have fallen out of love with Arsenal but not with football. His appetite for action remains immense.

Swansea squandered a golden chance for a second on the stroke of half-time when Petr Cech foiled Jordan Ayew from close range, and Clement admitted: “That was a big moment. It could have made things very different. But we didn’t do the details right in the second half.”

The devil was indeed in the detail. “We needed to be quicker and sharper,” said Wenger. “We looked laboured in the first half. We needed more penetration.”

Kolasinac equalised in the 51st minute when a pinball-type sequence in the Swansea area ended with a loose ball that the Bosnian drove home.

Kolasinac blazes home (
Image:
Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Seven minutes later, Kolasinac crossed low and there was Ramsey to sweep home and make it a half-century of goals for Arsenal.

It secured a win for Wenger in his 800th league match as Arsenal manager.

“Kolasinac has convinced everybody since he arrived that he is a good signing,” said Wenger. “We knew it would be tough. They defend well and counter-attack.”

That strategy looked like succeeding – until the man who cost nothing gave Wenger a win that meant everything.

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