Arsenal break down resolute Watford to earn 3-0 win

Giroud came off the bench to score Arsenal’s second goal

It took Arsenal 62 minutes to score past Watford’s solid backline, but once they did, the floodgates opened and the Gunners would go on to score 2 more within the next 12 minutes to give them a resounding lead over the home side. Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey were the names on the scoresheet as the Gunners returned home with all 3 points from Vicarage Road.

Once again, as has become the norm this season, Theo Walcott was the man up front for Arsene Wenger’s side despite Giroud scoring a couple during the international break. Watford, who had an unchanged side out, were in for a tough outing despite playing at home as Arsenal would be fully geared up to face the newly-promoted side as their next opponents are Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich side in the Champions League.

The game was one where both sides were going full throttle to take the lead right from the word go. The first few chances were Arsenal’s as they looked to get on the scoresheet early and they won a corner but couldn’t convert from the early chances.

Then came a spell where Watford’s pressing on the ball started paying dividends. Their captain Troy Deeney who hasn’t yet opened his account in the Premier League was the one channeling all of Watford’s good work.

A couple of times, both Deeney and Ighalo got in behind Arsenal’s defence on either side but were unable to pick out a teammate or get away a shot on target. Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker were made to work by Watford’s resilience in attack.

Flores’ men looked for long periods like they would take the lead against the Premier League bigwigs but failed to apply the final touch. It was a mistake that Arsenal would punish severely later on. There were signs that Arsenal were rattling the Watford defence just before half-time, though the score remained 0-0 when the sides went in for the break.

Having been 3-0 up against Manchester United by this stage, Arsenal fans could possibly have felt a little antsy at this point, given especially that Watford were showing some attacking intent. Home fans were pleased by their side and cheered them on when they walked in.

The same Watford walked back out and seemed to pick up where they left off as they again troubled the visitors’ defence. Ighalo drew Mertesacker out and forced him into a reckless mistimed challenge that saw the German defender get a yellow card.

Just minutes after that, the Gunners unlocked the Watford defence through a superb pass from Santi Cazorla as the Spaniard played through Mesut Ozil who seemed to be brought down in the box by Natan Ake but the referee played advantage as Alexis Sanchez was there to apply the finish for Arsenal.

Wenger then decided it was time for Giroud to get a run out as the French forward replaced Theo Walcott and it would only be five minutes for him on the pitch before Ozil found him with a cross and the former Montpellier man struck Arsenal’s second.

Only 6 minutes later, Ramsey completed a trio of goals after receiving a pass from Hector Bellerin in the opposition box. Those three quick goals killing off the game quickly and efficiently in favour of the Gunners.