Extra resilience under Emery shows as Arsenal stick at it to finish off Watford
FOR MANY years under Arsene Wenger Arsenal had come to be defined as a soft touch. They were beatable if you could disturb them from their elegant rhythms.
No one summed it up more charismatically than Troy Deeney, who once accused them of lacking cojones.
Deeney and his Watford colleagues came to the Emirates and rattled their hosts with a ferocious tempo and a physical intensity that helped them create a series of clear chances.
Yet Arsenal resisted, rode their luck, and kept fighting until they won this game with two late goals inside two minutes.
The crucial first was an own goal, scored by Craig Cathcart who turned a low cross from Alex Iwobi past Ben Foster at the near post. The second was coolly converted by Mesut Ozil.
If there is one sign of encouragement to take from the first stage of Unai Emery’s tenure it has been a new-found resilience in defence and the ability to win games without truly purring.
A hamstring injury to goalkeeper Petr Cech in stoppage time at the end of the first half threatened to disrupt Arsenal but Bernd Leno came on to make a fine Premier League debut.
Aaron Ramsey did not appear impressed when he was replaced by Iwobi early in the second half. The Welshman walked past the manager with no handshake.
‘This is the competitive spirit I want,’ said the Arsenal boss, when asked about the reaction. ‘When the player wants to play every minute, I want this.’
In contrast, Emery’s former team-mate at Real Sociedad, Javi Gracia, was not so positive.
‘I’m very upset for my players,’ said Gracia. ‘They deserved a better result. We had more shots, more shots on target and more genuine chances but it you don’t score you can lose.’
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Cech 7 (Leno 45min, 7.5); Bellerin 6, Mustafi 7, Holding 8, Monreal 7; Torreira 6, Xhaka 6.5; Ozil 6.5, Ramsey 5 (Iwobi 63, 7.5), Aubameyang 5 (Welbeck 77); Lacazette 5.5. Booked: Torreira, Mustafi. Subs (not used): Lichtsteiner, Kolasinac, Guendouzi, Mkhitaryan.
WATFORD (4-4-2): Foster 7; Navarro 6 (Femenia 84), Cathcart 6, Kabasele 6.5, Holebas 6; Hughes 6.5, Doucoure 7, Capoue 7, Pereyra 6; Deeney 7, Gray 6 (Success 72, 6.5). Booked: Deeney, Doucoure.
Subs (not used): Gomes, Mariappa, Chalobah, Masina, Sema.
Referee: A Taylor 6.