The season is still very early but with Arsenal above Tottenham, Chelsea and Man Utd it is imperative that they collect all three points against Watford tomorrow and remain above their closest top-four rivals.
To do that they need to get the basics right and play to their true ability and now is not the time for them to revert back to their old ways of being poor on the road.
Watford are no world beaters, they are struggling and now is a good time to be facing them but that does not mean that it will not be a difficult match, it will be.
But this is a very winnable game as long as Arsenal do the following.
No more defensive mistakes
This really is a no brainer, the Luiz penalty against Liverpool and the Xhaka craziness against Tottenham were both self-inflicted. Winning at Premier League level is hard enough without handing out gifts to our opponents.
Play to their strengths
Arsenal’s strength is their forward line, even without Lacazette and they have to approach this game with an attack-minded focus. Watford will struggle to contain the attackers but if the forwards are not provided with decent service then they are blunted. Arsenal simply must make sure that attack is their primary strategy.
Control the pace of the game
Watford will try and slow the game down, Arsenal cannot allow that to happen, they must play the game at a pace that suits them. Arsenal has speed in abundance and that will put the Hornets on the back foot, they will struggle to stay organised and the Arsenal pace will create chaos in the Watford defence.
Positive mental attitude
Arsenal have to enter this game with an attitude that they will win, they cannot think about their poor away record, they cannot fall into the trap of thinking a draw is good enough, it is not. The opening day win over Newcastle showed that they can put their previous away form to bed and the attitude they showed in that game has to be replicated at Vicarage Road.
Be clinical
The forwards have to be far more clinical than they have been this season, I do not expect them to put every chance away but I do expect them to take advantage of the vast majority of opportunities that come their way. Arsenal do miss too many chances and it is just not good enough, I mean, imagine how the game could have turned out against Liverpool if Pepe had taken his chance.