Wenger relief as Hornets stung
ARSENAL HIT STRAPS TO DISPATCH WATFORD Pressure eases on beleaguered Wenger after comfortable win.
Arsene Wenger received a welcome boost as Arsenal eased a little of the pressure on their beleaguered boss with a 3-0 win over Watford yesterday. After a wretched run left Wenger fighting to save his job, 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 victory in the San 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.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s strike wrapped up the points, but there was concern for Wenger as Mustafi limped off in the closing stages.
Arsenal, who had lost eight of their previous 14 matches in all competitions, remain in sixth place.
Winning the Europa League guarantees qualification for next season’s Champions League and, with Arsenal’s hopes of achieving that goal via a top-four finish looking bleak, it was no surprise Wenger prioritised the continental competition.
With the second leg against Milan looming on Thursday, Wenger rested Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny and left Jack Wilshere on the bench.
For the second successive home game, a significant amount of seats were empty as fans stayed away in protest at Wenger’s woes.
Arsenal took the lead in the eighth minute.
When Mesut Oezil swung a deep free-kick towards the far post, Mustafi punished slack marking by Jose Holebas and Adrian Mariappa as the German defender powered his close-range header past Karnezis.
With the momentum back in their favour, Aubameyang doubled Arsenal’s lead in the 59th minute.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles conceded a penalty with a foul on Pereyra, but when Deeney stepped up to take the spot-kick, Cech made a fine save that preserved his 200th clean sheet in the Premier League.
Mkhitaryan bagged his second goal in successive matches with a low strike that crept under Karnezis in the 77th minute. – AFP