Bob Bradley graciously left a little something for the next American head coach in EPL to achieve. Bradley is the first American to manage a team in the Premiership, but he is not the first American EPL manager to guide a team to victory in his debut game: Swansea City lost, 3-2, to Arsenal in Bradley's first match since he took charge of coaching duties at the club.
The result was expected: Arsenal has been in very good form, Swansea has been prone to valiant defeats of late. The Swans gifted their hosts two goals in the first half that were as much a result of poor decisions on the back line as they were about Arsenal's pressure on their visitors' goal. Swansea got one back before half-time, but Mesut Ozil restored the Gunners' two-goal cushion in the 57th minute.
Borja trimmed Arsenal's lead in the 66th, and the hosts lost Granit Xhaka to a red card in the 70th minute. Playing with an extra man allowed Swansea to push forward for the equalizer, but the Gunners held on for the win.
Post-match, Bradley fielded several questions about his coaching philosophy. The result was not a surprise to anyone, even Swansea's spirited effort to deny Arsenal three points was in keeping with expectations, so the focus of the gathered press was mostly on sounding out Bradley for more information about his background and methods.
Bradley has been in getting-to-know-you mode with press, players and fans since he arrived at Swansea at the beginning of October. He handled the familiar questions with familiar answers. But signed off his post-match press conference with a promise he had already made to his players: "This is just the start."