Arsenal were in for a shocker on Tuesday night, as visitors Watford defeated Arsene Wenger’s side 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to the two goals in the first thirteen minutes of the game.
The Gunners were completely outplayed in the first-half by the Hornets as they did not let the home team settle into their rhythm. And soon enough, Younes Kaboul put the visitors ahead with a powerful drive from outside the box, via a deflection from Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman was caught napping again, as he failed to control a throw-in from Gabriel, allowing Etienne Capoue to make a run into the box and take a shot at goal which Petr Cech managed to save, but unfortunately the ball ricocheted into the path of Troy Deeney who made no mistake to double Watford’s advantage. The visitors could easily have gotten two more, if not for some quality saves by Cech to deny Sebastien Prodl and Daryl Janmaat.
Arsenal started the second half brightly with substitute Theo Walcott coming close to halving the lead. Heurelho Gomes made some smart stops soon after to deny Alex Iwobi and Mesut Ozil in quick succession, but was finally beaten by the Nigerian after some brilliant work by Sanchez on the right-side. The Gunners kept the pressure on Watford, with Sanchez and Iwobi continuing to cause serious problems but Watford held firm. Substitute Lucas Perez came ever so close, hitting the crossbar from a thumping left-footed drive in the 84th minute but the Hornets managed to see off the game and seal three points.
On a night when Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham dropped points, the Gunners failed to capitalize and dropped a place down to third in the league standings. Let’s take a look as to how each Arsenal player fared on the night:
Petr Cech – 6/10
Got a tough one for the first goal, due to a big deflection. Made a good save from Capoue’s effort, but was unfortunate in Deeney’s goal. Two good saves from Prodl and Janmaat’s efforts. Was a spectator in the second period with his team dominating proceedings.
Gabriel – 5/10
Poor throw in the lead-up to the second. Booked for a poor challenge on M’Baye Niang. Got forward often, but looked out of place and was caught out of position on many occasions.
Shkodran Mustafi – 5/10
Gave away the free-kick leading to the opener. Let Capoue get past him with ease in the build-up to the second goal. Conceded possession cheaply, looked flustered at the back. By far his worst display in Arsenal colours.
Laurent Koscielny – 6/10
Carried the ball out of defence well despite struggling for most of the first-half. Improved in the second period and made an important challenge on Okaka late in the game.
Nacho Monreal – 4/10
Booked for a silly dive in the Watford box. Failed to close down Deeney for the second goal. Was all over the place both defensively and in the attacking third.
Francis Coquelin – 5/10
Caught in possession at times, made a few erroneous passes. The Watford midfielders were all over him. Replaced after the hour mark.
Aaron Ramsey – 3/10
Unlucky to have Kaboul’s effort deflected off him into the net. At fault for the second goal, letting the ball past him for Capoue to have a run at the defence. His nightmarish start ended on a further sour note after he was withdrawn in the 18th minute, due to a calf problem.
Alexis Sanchez – 6/10
Couldn’t get into the game early on but burst into life after half-time, moving into a central position. Was a constant menace and setup the opener for Iwobi with a lovely chipped cross from the byline. No lack of effort, but the end product was missing.
Mesut Ozil – 5/10
Cut a frustrated figure for most of the first-half. Gave away cheap fouls. There was a semblance of improvement in the second half, but once again failed to leave his mark on the game.
Alex Iwobi – 7/10
Ineffective in the first period, but looked lively after the restart, making some penetrative runs on the left-flank. Came close to scoring but was denied by Gomes, but found the net soon after.
Olivier Giroud – 5/10
Isolated at the top and lacked the desired service. Was dominated by the big centre-halves Kaboul and Prodl. Withdrawn at half-time for Theo Walcott.
Substitutes
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6/10
Replaced Ramsey in the first-half. A few good passes and decent runs aside, he did not have a great impact.
Theo Walcott – 5/10
Came on for Giroud at half-time. Forced a fine save from Heurelho Gomes. However, did not offer much thereafter.
Lucas Perez – 6/10
Replaced Coquelin in the 67th minute as the Gunners went about chasing the equalizer. Hit the crossbar with a thunderous effort.