at Vicarage Road No fight, no hope
Abject Arsenal are bullied yet again
THIS was textbook Arsenal, crumbling at the first sign of resistance. For some fans it was the last straw, and vitriol was aimed at the players at the end.
Manager Arsene Wenger received his share of the barracking, chants of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ echoing from Arsenal fans.
Wenger will point to injustices, such as Richarlison’s elaborate tumble under pressure from Hector Bellerin in the 71st minute which earned the penalty scored by Troy Deeney. But Watford should have been dead and buried by the time Deeney equalised Per Mertesacker’s header.
Alex Iwobi squandered an excellent chance before Mesut Ozil, whose future was once more under scrutiny after he started on the bench, missed an even easier opportunity. The only surprise was that it took Watford until the second minute of stoppage time to find a winner, Tom Cleverley pouncing to punish Arsenal’s defensive errors.
Cleverley claimed he could sense they were wobbling. ‘You smell a bit of blood,’ he said. ‘I gambled for the goal. If you were a bit more wary of a team then maybe I wouldn’t have done.’
Deeney was less diplomatic, saying: ‘I’m not going to be one to tell Mr Wenger about himself, but there’s a reason they lost and it wasn’t because of one penalty. It’s having a bit of cojones. Whenever I play Arsenal, I think, “Let me whack the first one and see who wants it”. Today I jumped up with Per Mertesacker — I didn’t even have to jump, actually.’
Adding to Wenger’s worries, Danny Welbeck and Laurent Koscielny limped off, and, with Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey, are doubts for Thursday’s Europa League trip to Red Star Belgrade.
Wenger said: ‘Everybody, after a defeat like that, is disappointed. No one talks, just the shock to absorb in the last minute.’
No fight in the dressing room. No fight on the pitch, it would seem. SUPER STAT: Petr Cech has failed to save any of the 12 penalties he has faced with Arsenal in all competitions.