Premier League 2018-19, Watford 0-1 Arsenal: 3 reasons why Arsenal won an away game after such a long time

Arsenal moved to fourth in the table after a hardly convincing victory over Watford. Unai Emery's men were lucky as Ben Foster gave them a gift early on and then Troy Deeney’s red card gave them a man advantage. The Hornets goalkeeper received a back pass and failed to control it and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was there to pounce on the opportunity. Deeney was dismissed a few minutes after for throwing an elbow on the face of Lucas Torreira.

Watford really gave Arsenal a tough time despite being a man down. The home team played well on the wings and Arsenal’s poor away record only gave them more confidence. Gunners had their heart in the mouth when Andre Gray rounded Leno only for Maitland-Niles to produce a desperate block.

Here are the three reasons why Arsenal got the all-important three points.

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#1 Aubameyang's hunger

Great performance from him

The striker has been in the race for the Golden Boot for some time. A recent illness left him on the bench for a couple of games and impacted his ambitions to win the award.

Aubameyang and Lacazette are completely different types of strikers. Lacazette goes deep to collect the ball while Aubameyang is in and around the penalty box ready to pounce on any opportunity that falls to his feet. Aubameyang’s hunger and drive to score goals was at Arsenal’s rescue last night as he pre-empted the mistake from Foster. The former Dortmund striker was on his toes and reached Foster in no time. Many would say that Ben Foster gifted the goal but one has to give credit to the striker too for the way he closed down on the keeper.

Aubameyang is now just one goal short of Mo Salah and Sergio Aguero’s goal number in the race for Golden Boot.

#2 Deeney's insanity

Troy Deeney saw red

Deeney showed his immature side when he elbowed Torreira in an unnecessary tackle. Many would agree that it was worth a red card material. Deeney laughed at the Gunners in 2017 when Watford beat the Gunners 2-1 at home. His manager, Javi Gracia, would be pretty angry at his lack of sanity in yesterday’s game.

Deeney will sit out three matches now and will surely play the FA Cup final which is his only saving grace. Hornets boss who has inspired his team to be the best out of the rest in the EPL would be unhappy at the way his team lost 3 points.

Watford has had a great season and would love to forget the mistakes as soon as possible and try and fight it out for the European places. The home side showed some fighting spirit despite the errors made in the starting phase of the match.

#3 Good defensive work-rate

Arsenal defended well to keep a clean sheet

Though Arsenal had an extra man advantage, they appeared to be the inferior side. Watford hit the woodwork twice and we can say that Arsenal were lucky to get three points. But the changed observed from the Wenger era was that all 11 players were willing to take on defensive duties. When needed, players were also willing to throw themselves onto the ground to block a shot. Maitland-Niles was, in particular, was spectacular and he seemed to be giving quite a good option to Emery even if Bellerin returns.

Although the win was a tough win, it is such games which play an important role in a team’s ambition to get into the top four. A team cannot always win by playing beautifully. Though his tactics are questionable at times, the work rate under Emery is a sure shot hit among the fans.