ARSENAL...3 WATFORD..0
ON a day of numbers Arsenal indicated Arsene Wenger’s isn’t up yet.
The Gunners’ first goal was their 1,000th in the Premier League – coming from a 50th top-flight assist from Mesut Ozil, accomplished in record time. And Petr Cech at last claimed his 200th Premier League clean sheet after saving his first penalty for the club at the 16th attempt. And as an economics graduate, under-pressure boss Wenger knows such statistics will do his hopes of remaining in his job no harm at all. He still has plenty to prove to win over the doubters. But the ‘negative spiral’ which skipper Laurent Koscielny talked about last week is not spinning quite so fast any more . Thursday’s win over AC Milan and this comfortable victory, thanks to goals from Shkodran Mustafi, PierreEmerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, have eased the pressure. A third victory in a row, in the home leg against Milan in the Europa League on Thursday, should halt the spiral altogether, with victory in the competition likely to change the whole landscape at the Emirates. In the second minute Arsenal could have been ahead when Ozil produced a superb ball to send Aubameyang clear.
He shot low and hard but the ball hit Orestis Karnezis’ body and bounced wide.
Six minutes later Arsenal were ahead and Ozil was again the architect.
Block
He picked up where he left off in Milan, delivering an inviting free-kick from the left. Mustafi accepted the chance to shake off Jose Holebas and plant a powerful header back across goal just out of Karnezis’ reach.
It made it a half-century of assists in the Premier League for Ozil, with no one getting there in fewer games than the German, whose 141 beat the previous best by Eric Cantona (143).
Cech did well to block a Abdoulaye Doucoure shot with his legs. He was agile again in the 27th minute to beat away a Richarlison free-kick – but he only sent it to Roberto Pereyra, who blazed high and wide. Similarly,