Monday Night

VICARAGE ROAD, KICK-OFF 8pm – LIVE ON SKY SPORTS MAIN EVENT

WHEN Unai Emery was offered the Arsenal job, the first man he phoned was Javi Gracia. Tonight Gracia can have a big say on how his friend’s first year in the job pans out. Emery and the Watford boss both played for Real Sociedad and despite spending just one year in San Sebastian together, they remain close. But there will be no room for niceties when Arsenal travel to Vicarage Road. It is a crucial clash in the north London side’s push for the top four with Troy Deeney — who accused Arsenal of lacking ‘cojones’ last season — and the rest of Watford’s FA Cup finalists standing in their way. Deeney added that when he faces Arsenal, he thinks: ‘Let me whack the first one and see who wants it.’ No love lost on the pitch, but if Arsenal do achieve their goals this campaign, their fans will have Gracia to thank for Emery’s arrival. ‘When the possibility opened up to sign here, the first coach, the first person in the football world I called was him,’ Emery said. ‘I asked him some questions about the football here, the clubs, Arsenal and he recommended I come here.’ That relationship has continued since Emery joined Gracia in England: ‘We had dinner, their coaches and our coaches, one day in St Albans in September,’ added Emery. ‘We spoke about football here, English football and their experience because they were here six months before us. ‘It was a good conversation about football because Javi Gracia is also a football man.’ The Gunners need three points to leapfrog Chelsea and Manchester United to get back into the top four but have only picked up one win in their last 11 league games on the road.