Watford may be bottom of the standings and just gone through a change in management but it would not be the brightest move to underestimate them, they are more than capable of getting a result against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon at Vicarage Road.
The dangers they pose are numerous and Arsenal will have to be fully focussed and on top of their game, otherwise, they will get punished.
Frustration
Arsenal must avoid getting frustrated, the new Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores is very defensive and you can be certain that he will set his team up to frustrate Arsenal at every opportunity. Arsenal must be patient and not try to force the game.
Counter-Attack
Because Watford is likely to be defensive they will be looking to utilise the counter-attack at every opportunity, the defence and midfield must be aware of this and in particular, Kolasinac and Maitland-Niles, those too cannot be caught out of position when venturing upfield.
Aerial football
I fully expect Watford to get the ball high into the Arsenal penalty area as often as possible, especially if they start with Danny Welbeck but even without the former Gunner they will be wanting to put Sokratis and Luiz under as much pressure as possible.
Midfield
The key area and Watford do have some decent midfielders, it will be a hard-fought battle for sure but Arsenal has the players that can control the middle of the park. Lose the middle and it becomes very difficult to win the game.
Physical game
Expect Watford to be very physical, they will be looking to unsettle Arsenal at every opportunity especially against Arsenal’s flair players like Nicolas Pepe and Dani Ceballos, in fact, I am certain they will be targetting those two in particular in a sort of baptism of fire.