Watford 2-1 Arsenal: The Gunners drop two points hard in the sizzling Hornets’ nest

Arsenal travelled to Watford knowing that, after Chelsea’s defeat to Crystal Palace earlier today, they had a chance to jump up to fourth in the Premier League table. They faced a Watford side who were without a win at home in the league this season but who had also only lost once. Nevertheless this was a game that the Gunners needed to win if they were to consider themselves genuine title contenders.

Watford dominate the early exchanges

Watford manager Marco Silva said in the week that his side would play on the front foot in this clash with Arsenal and they certainly started brightly. Both sides got forward frequently and the home side seemed the equals of Arsene Wenger’s team in the early minutes. There was a brief moment of panic for the Watford fans when they saw their standout player this season Richarlison stay down after an awkward challenge, but the Brazilian was cleared to continue after his wrist was taped up.

The talented youngster was heavily involved early on for the Hornets and his matchup with Hector Bellerin on the left flank looked to be an interesting one. As the two sides settled into the game it was Watford who started to dominate possession without really creating anything clear-cut. Roberto Pereyra had the best chance of the opening 25 minutes but the Argentinian midfielder couldn’t steer his header goalwards.

The Big Friendly German gives Arsenal an unlikely lead

On the odd occasion that Arsenal did get forward they were restricted to long-range efforts, the closest of which came from Mohamed Elneny who blasted his shot a foot over the bar. Despite Watford’s dominance there was no real urgency to their attacking moves and both sides were misplacing passes all over the park. Alexandre Lacazette seemed to be the bright spark for the visitors and the striker almost managed to craft a chance for Danny Welbeck but for some excellent defensive work from Holebas.

Eventually it was Per Mertesacker who broke the deadlock, powering in a bullet header from a Xhaka corner to score Arsenal’s first league goal away from the Emirates this season. The German rose above Tom Cleverley to give the Gunners the lead, and Bellerin almost doubled the visitors’ advantage but the wingback saw his left-footed shot fly just wide of the post. Watford didn’t respond well to the setback and the home side went into the break knowing that they needed to up their attacking tempo in the second half.

Watford press for an equaliser

To their credit Marco Silva’s side came out looking sharp at the start of the second period and looked to utilise their pace going forwards to catch out Mertesacker and Koscielny. Richarlison was once again involved and almost found an equaliser with a curling shot that bounced a few yards wide. It was a warning sign for Arsenal however and it lifted the home crowd as the Hornets began to put together some cohesive attacks.

Watford’s search for an equaliser allowed Arsenal to play on the counter and the Gunners could have doubled their lead on a few occasions but for some sloppy passing in some promising final third moves. Unfortunately for the away side Danny Welbeck was forced off due to injury, but the versatile forward’s departure saw the introduction of Mesut Ozil. The German almost made an instant impact when he slipped in Iwobi but Gomes made a good save to deny the winger.

Cleverley smashes home a late winner

Ozil had a brilliant opportunity of his own a few minutes later when he went one-on-one with Gomes but the Brazilian goalkeeper spread himself well to deny the midfielder. The miss was to prove costly for Arsenal as Richarlison picked up the ball at the other end of the pitch and breezed past Bellerin only to be brought down by the Spanish wingback. The contact was minimal but Neil Swarbrick pointed straight to the spot and Troy Deeney coolly slotted the penalty away to draw Watford level.

Minutes later Richarlison was involved again and almost gave the home side the lead. The Brazilian’s shot cannoned into the side netting but was another sign that the Hornets didn’t want to settle for a draw. Their determination almost paid off when former Tottenham man Etienne Capoue, who had been introduced as a late substitute, was inches away from grabbing a winner after his deflected shot struck the post. However it was Tom Cleverley, scoring in a Watford shirt for the first time in seven years, who gave Watford a sensational late winner after the ball fell at his feet after multiple deflections.

Final Thoughts

Marco Silva can take a lot of positives from this stunning performance against one of the Premier Leagues traditional heavy hitters. The Hornets managed to find their first home win of the season and they have a fantastic player in Richarlison. As long as they can keep hold of the Brazilian youngster this Watford side could be in for a great season.

This was a disastrous result for Arsenal who would have gone into this game looking for a win to make up ground on their title rivals. The one positive was that French striker Lacazette looked bright, but he didn’t receive much service and the Gunners looked toothless in attack for much of the game.

Match Report

Watford: Gomes 8; Mariappa (Carrillo, 63’), Kiko Femenía, Britos, Holebas, Cleverley, Richarlison, Kabasele, Doucouré, Pereyra (Capoue, 81’), Gray (Deeney, 62’) 

Arsenal: Cech; Koscielny (Holding, 85’), Mertesacker, Monreal, Bellerin; Elneny, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Iwobi, Welbeck (Ozil, 61’), Lacazette (Giroud, 68’)

Goals: Mertesacker (0-1, 39’), Deeney (1-1, 71’), Cleverley (2-1, 90+2)

Referee: Neil Swarbrick

Yellow Cards: Kabasele (64’)

Red Cards: None

Player Ratings

Watford: Gomes 8; Mariappa 7 (Carrillo 6), Kiko Femenía 7, Britos 7, Holebas 8, Cleverley 9, Richarlison 9, Kabasele 7, Doucouré 8, Pereyra 8 (Capoue 7), Gray 6 (Deeney 8)

Arsenal: Cech 6; Koscielny 6 (Holding n/a), Mertesacker 8, Monreal 6, Bellerin 6; Elneny 7, Xhaka 7, Kolasinac 6; Iwobi 6, Welbeck 7 (Ozil 7), Lacazette 7 (Giroud 6)