When Arsenal took the lead against Watford in the first five minutes, with Saka and Odegaard combining for a magnificent goal, it looked like we were going to go on and win the game comfortably, but with our defence floundering, Cucho Hernandez scored a magnificent overhead kick to level the game.
It was great for the neutrals with end to end excitement, but with Arsenal needing the points to get into the coveted Fourth place it was very nervy for Arsenal fans.
Then Saka put us back in front on the half hour mark and we breathed easier and cruised to half time.
Watford had no intention of lying down though and it was looking like the Hornets could fight back until Gabriel Martinelli made it three after just seven minutes of the second half. But the game was still nervy with both sides making inroads. The Arsenal defence continued to look shakey, and when Sissoko got one back it set up a nervewracking end for the Arsenal fans.
The five minutes of added team was like pulling teeth, but we did manage to hold on. The question we were all asking was ‘where was our usual solid defence’. Arteta himself made a point of mentioning it in his post-game interviews. He said on Football.London when asked why he side didn’t look as controlled as usual: “I saw that in the first minute of the game – we could have been 1-0 down. We were really good going forward and we had all the right intention and the energy to do it.
“We scored three magnificent goals but we didn’t have the same energy and commitment defensively. When that happens, to win a game away from home, you’re going to suffer. That’s why we suffered today – because defensively we didn’t have the right structure. We didn’t detect with enough urgency the moments where they could activate certain spaces that we knew. That’s why we suffered. We conceded two and we could have conceded another one or two.”
“I don’t know [why]. Thinking sometimes that ‘yeah, I have the space and this is really good and controlling the game’ but they were not. I’m really happy that we won the game and there are a lot of positive things to take on, but that’s not going to be enough.”
Arteta also admitted that he was angry when Watford got their second, and when asked why, he said: “Because I didn’t like how we were controlling the game. We were allowing spaces against the team who, if we kept allowing that, we were going to suffer. I knew that. We had to put that right and we did it for certain periods.
“Then in the last 25 minutes, we lost it again. We have to show that maturity, understanding and capacity to control the game how we wanted to. At 3-1, after, we had to make 300,000 passes in the opposition half and when they have the right moment to come at us, then we can attack them. We didn’t do that. The game was open and you had the feeling that the game was open right until the end.”
So it sounds like the Boss is going to having serious words with his defenders in the following seven days. Luckily the team have a week to prepare themselves for two tough home games against Leicester and Liverpool. Surely Arteta will get them back on track?
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Mikel Arteta’s FULL press conference after Watford win –