Marco Silva, You Beauty! – Watford Were The Best Team In Premier League Gameweek 8
Many might have expected this article to be about Manchester City but Watford truly deserve to be named as the Premier League team of the week. Had Pep Guardiola’s men won 7-2 against any big team, it would have undoubtedly been them. But they played Stoke City and were expected to win. Watford, on the other hand, beat a top-level team with class, after ending last season a few spots above the relegation zone.
The stakes were pretty high at Vicarage Road for both sides. Arsene Wenger named a tough side even though they were without Alexis Sanchez, Shkodran Mustafi and Aaron Ramsey. Although they took the lead late in the first half through a Per Mertesacker header, things took a different turn after the Troy Deeney penalty.
Watford managed to equalise, and from there, Arsenal wilted as the home side grew stronger. Finally, Tom Cleverley decided the game with a goal in injury time to send Marco Silva’s boys to 4th place. This may have been a miserable away loss for Arsenal but for Watford, this is a victory they will remember for quite some time.
In fact, the team may have even given rise to a new era of ‘Silva time’. Watford have now taken 7 points from their last 3 games thanks to goals that have come after the 90-minute mark. There was Richarlison’s 90th-minute winner at Swansea, his equaliser in the 95th minute win against West Brom, and now Cleverly’s 92nd minute winner against Arsenal.
While the penalty awarded due to an alleged foul on Richarlison continues to be a hotly debated topic, the fact is that Watford dominated the visitors either way. However, one area of concern for the Hornets will have to be their forward line. They had plenty of possession in the first 45 minutes but they failed to have a shot on target even by the hour mark. Andre Gray seemed thoroughly isolated as the match progressed, which does bring up the need for Silva to possibly bring in a quality forward in January.
The manager has done a great job with Watford’s midfield – bringing in Richarlison and Nathaniel Chalobah have proven to be excellent moves, but to continue with their triumphs going forward, he needs to bring in a quality striker.
Under both Walter Mazzarri and and Quique Sánchez Flores, Watford had spells of good form before falling away, ultimately costing both managers their jobs. This current crop, however, looks better than any other side over the past two seasons. Silva has them doing quite well at both ends of the pitch, and the fans will be happy that for once, their focus is on sealing a top half finish rather than avoiding the relegation drop.