Granit chiselled from same rock as Petit, says Wenger
ARSENE WENGER believes his £25million signing Granit Xhaka can be Arsenal’s next Emmanuel Petit.
Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil were all on target in the first half of the Gunners’ first win of the season.
Yet the standout player at Vicarage Road was Wenger’s new Swiss midfielder, who provided a protective shield and displayed a willingness to drop deep along with a striking elegance on the ball and an eye for a pass. Remind you of anyone?
French star Petit and his fellow countryman Patrick Vieira formed a formidable partnership in midfield as Arsenal rose to prominence under Wenger.
Petit was a key member of the Doublewinning 1997-98 season that provided Wenger with his first trophies in England.
“Granit plays naturally behind the ball – he is a bit similar to Petit in the way he plays,” said Wenger. “He likes to sit, give good long balls and be available with the centre-backs.
“He has a good engine, good stature, is good in the air and has a balance in his game. He is 24 years old and already has experience abroad. It is more reassuring when a player has played abroad. He was captain at Monchengladbach. That is not a small club, so he has leadership qualities.”
Wenger, right, defended his decision to bring in another midfielder even though Arsenal appear to be more in need of reinforcements in other areas. He said: “I did it because we lost three midfielders. We lost Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky and Mathieu Flamini last year. “We had many injuries and have uncertainties about longerterm injuries. “If you project a bit for a longer future, we have players close to 30 and close to 20 but we did not have many at the mid-range of 24, 25 – and it is important.” With just one point from their first two matches, Wenger and his side arrived in Watford under pressure. Perfect starts from both Manchester clubs and Chelsea had left them playing catchup at this early stage.
This, then, was the ideal tonic – a promising performance and result, albeit against opponents they were expected to overpower.
The imminent arrivals of £50m-plus duo Shkodran Mustafi from
Valencia and Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna should go some way to appeasing fans frustrated by their slow start and Wenger’s seemingly continued reluctance to spend big on stellar additions.
At least those on the books delivered on Saturday. A combination of Ozil and Sanchez won the penalty converted early on by Cazorla, then Sanchez did enough to dispatch Theo Walcott’s pinpoint cross, before Ozil’s bullet header from the Chile international’s cross.
Wenger said: “This season, everybody in the Premier League is strong. We just have to focus on the performances and try to improve. It is too early to speak about the title.”
A 57th-minute debut goal from Watford substitute Roberto Pereyra gave Walter Mazzarri’s side hope, but ultimately it proved false as their wait for a maiden win continues, while placing their Italian manager under scrutiny.
Watford defender Younes Kaboul, who made his debut, said of the boss: “He’s learning and improving.
“He definitely gets his ideas across. It’s clear straight away what he wants. He can be very tough.
“The lesson for now is to be together and fight on the pitch, to bring our quality.”
WATFORD (3-5-2): Gomes 5; Kaboul 5, Prodl 5, Kabasele 5 (Janmaat 52, 6); Amrabat 5 (Success 77), Guedioura 6 (Pereyra 46, 7), Capoue 7, Behrami 6, Holebas 6; Deeney 6, Ighalo 6. Booked: Prodl, Amrabat, Behrami, Holebas, Ighalo, Deeney. Goal: Pereyra 57. NEXT UP: West Ham (a), Sep 10 PL.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Cech 8; Bellerin 7, Holding 7, Koscielny 7, Monreal 6 (Gibbs 74, 6); Xhaka 7, Cazorla 8; Walcott 7, Ozil 7 (Wilshere 70, 6), Oxlade-Chamberlain 6 (Elneny 70, 6); Sanchez 7. Booked: Wilshere. Goals: Cazorla 9 pen, Sanchez 40, Ozil 45.
NEXT UP: Southampton (h), Sep 10 PL.
Referee: K Friend (Leics).