Wenger gets boost as Arsenal sinks Watford

Arsene Wenger claimed Arsenal’s spirit has carried them through a traumatic period after Sunday’s ( Monday in Manila) 3- 0 win over Watford eased a little of the pressure on the beleaguered boss.

Wenger is fighting to save his job and a 2-0 win at AC Milan in the Europa League on Thursday offered the Frenchman temporary respite from the torrent of abuse he has endured this season.

Maintaining the momentum from that last- 16 vic tor y in the S an Siro, Wenger’s side ended a run of three successive Premier League defeats with a solid display at the Emirates Stadium.

Shkodran Mustafi’s early opener and a cool finish from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put them in control.

In a moment of sweet vindication, Watford captain Troy Deeney, who had questioned Arsenal’s spirit earlier this season, had a second- half penalty saved by Petr Cech.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s strike wrapped up the points, but there was concern for Wenger ahead of Thursday’s second leg against Milan as Mustafi limped off with a groin injur y in the closing stages.

Arsenal remains in sixth place and still looks unlikely to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top- four finish.

Wi n n i n g t h e Euro p a League wo u l d also a c h i e ve that goal a n d, w i t h that i n m i n d, Wenger wa s i m p re s s e d w i t h the way h i s p l aye r s h ave s t aye d u n i ted despite t h e i r recent p roblems.

“The spirit and desire was good. That kept us out of trouble. You have to give credit to the players, they stuck together,” he said.

Wenger also saluted Cech, who became the first goalkeeper to keep 200 clean sheets in the Premier League.

Cech, who earned many of those clean sheets with former club Chelsea added: “It is an unbelievable personal milestone, but the most important thing is to win and so it was defeats that were more frustrating.”

For the second successive home game, a significant amount of seats were empty as fans stayed away in protest at Wenger’s woes.

The subdued atmosphere lent an ‘ end of an era’ feel to the match, but it didn’t bother Arsenal, who had a point to prove to Watford captain Deeney.

Deeney had infuriated Arsenal by accusing them of a lack of “cojones” after Watford beat Wenger’s men in October.

Fu e l l e d by that jibe, Arsenal to o k lead in the e i g ht h m i n u te.

When Ozil swung a deep free- kick towards the far post, Mustafi punished slack marking by Jose Holebas and Adrian Mariappa as the German defender powered a close- range header past Orestis Karnezis. AFP the