EPL 2017/18: Watford 2-1 Arsenal: 5 Talking Points

#4 Why didn’t Wenger unleash Jack Wilshere?

Jack Wilshere was left on the bench against Watford, angering Arsenal's fans

Although they went into the second half in the lead, it was quite clear from a flat first half that Arsenal were lacking in the creative department. Alexandre Lacazette, Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck barely had a goalscoring chance between them in the first 45 minutes thanks to a distinct lack of spark in the middle.

Arsene Wenger attempted to change this in the second half by introducing Mesut Ozil for the injured Welbeck, but although he did set up a chance for Iwobi, his impact wasn’t exactly earth-shattering. Wenger did, however, have Jack Wilshere on the bench. Wilshere is now fit and ready to play and was outstanding in Arsenal’s wins over Doncaster and BATE Borisov.

The fans were chanting his name, but instead of bringing him on when the game was in flux, Wenger instead introduced Rob Holding – a defender. The fans responded by chanting “you don’t know what you’re doing”, and that may well prove to be true if Wenger keeps refusing to gamble on one of his most talented players. Wilshere could’ve won this game for Arsenal.