In what was a shocking performance by Arsenal, the home side slumped to a miserable 2-1 defeat at the hands of Watford. Arsene Wenger’s side got off to a slow start, like they always do, and were two down within 13 minutes, courtesy strikes from Younes Kaboul and Troy Deeney, as the manager looked on helplessly from the stands, serving the second of his 4-match touchline ban.
Watford took a two-goal lead into the break but Arsenal came out all guns blazing in the second half and Alex Iwobi halved the deficit with a neat finish off an Alexis Sanchez cross. Substitute Lucas Perez then missed a glorious chance to get his side level as his ferocious left-footed strike struck the underside of the crossbar.
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Arsenal surged forward in the final few minutes but Watford held firm to claim a vital three points, effectively ending the Gunners’ title challenge.
Here are five talking points from the game at the Emirates:
#1 Shkodran Mustafi’s unbeaten run comes to an end
Mustafi had a great start to his Arsenal career, not losing a single game that he started in, prior to today. The German formed a solid partnership in the center of the defence alongside Laurent Koscielny, adding some much-needed steel to the Arsenal backline.
Mustafi’s presence has ensured that the Gunners have not lost a single game in which the German has been a part of the starting lineup, a run that stood at 22 games before Watford put an end to it at the Emirates.
The 24-year-old himself had an extremely poor outing. Mustafi struggled to deal with the movement and physicality of Deeney in the first half and was at fault for the second goal, where he allowed Capoue to surge past him without even putting in a tackle.
The German also gave away possession quite cheaply on numerous occasions and will be hoping to put this performance out of his mind as soon as he possibly can.
#2 Arsenal’s slow start leads to Watford’s first goal at the Emirates
Arsenal have been notoriously slow starters this season, often going down by more than a goal and leaving themselves a mountain to climb. They did it against Bournemouth as well as Ludogorets, but were able to fight back on those two occasions. Watford, however, made sure it didn’t happen a third time.
Kaboul put his side ahead after just 10 minutes with a deflected effort that found its way past a hapless Petr Cech. The goal was Watford’s first at the Emirates as they had failed to score at that ground in their last two attempts.
Troy Deeney then doubled that lead after some neat play from Capoue. The Frenchman ghosted past the Arsenal defence only for his shot to be well-saved by Cech, but the rebound fell kindly to the Englishman, who made no mistake.
#3 Spurs haunt Arsenal in more ways than one
Spurs hurt Arsenal in more than one way on the night. Their point against Sunderland took them to second, ahead of their north London rivals on goal difference. At the Emirates, meanwhile, it was three former Tottenham players that contributed to Arsenal’s downfall on the night.
Younes Kaboul, who played for Tottenham between 2010 and 2015, scored the visitors’ opening goal after a deflection off Ramsey took the ball sailing past the Arsenal keeper.
The second goal, meanwhile, was possible only because of a fantastic run by Etienne Capoue, another former Spurs player, who eased past the challenge of Mustafi to set up his captain Deeney for the finish.
Hourelho Gomes, too, had a solid game between the sticks for the visitors. The former Spurs keeper made a great save off a Theo Walcott strike early in the second half and was extremely decisive in dealing with set pieces.
#4 Arsenal’s title challenge is over
The Gunners had a great opportunity to close the gap on league leaders Chelsea, considering the fact that Conte’s side were traveling to Anfield to face a wounded Liverpool. Arsenal, however, had to take care of matters at home, something they failed to do, effectively ending their title challenge. Instead of possibly reducing the gap to five points, their defeat, coupled with Chelsea’s point at Anfield, has increased that gap to nine points.
What makes matters worse for the Gunners faithful is that Spurs moved ahead of Arsene Wenger’s side despite only managing a point against Sunderland.
The Gunners now travel to Stamford Bridge to face off against Chelsea and nothing less than a win would do for Wenger’s side if they are to at least compete for a top-two spot. With the transfer window also coming to a close and Wenger expressing his desire to not sign a big name in said window, it could be a troubled few months for the North London side.
#5 Contrasting end to a contrasting month for both sides
Arsenal came into this game unbeaten in the month of January and on the back of a stellar performance in the FA Cup. Having won 5 and drawn 1 game in all competitions in January and Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck returning from injury, it was the perfect time to face a Watford side that had won just a single game – against Burton Albion – all month,
The Hornets had just suffered an embarrassing defeat to Millwall last weekend and were extremely low on confidence coming into this game.
However, none of that showed on the night as they thoroughly outplayed the Gunners, to take away a well-deserved three points, ending the month on a high. For Arsenal, it's back to the drawing board as they look to get their season back on track.
