Arsenal have taken all three points from their clash with Watford this afternoon, no thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Gunners started brightly, working our way up the field at speed, and it didn’t take long before we had the ball in the net. Bukayo Saka’s goal was rightly ruled out for offside by VAR however. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had failed to take control of the ball, with his touch going away from the open goal, with the young Gunner Saka finishing off the move. Unfortunately Auba had been onside if he had only been the one to take control of the ball when he had the chance.
We struggled to get in behind the defence for a while after, with both sides seemingly cancelling each other out, while Danny Rose was playing with Spurs blood in his veins with a number of rash challenges going unpunished.
That man Rose was then punished for somewhat of a clothesline on Lacazette in the box, with Auba given the chance to put us ahead 10 minutes before the break. It just wasn’t his day however, as the Gabon international failed to convert, with his effort nice and high and rather central for the keeper to block it.
We went into the break knowing we should be ahead with a tense feeling, and we didn’t appear to come out after the break full of steam either.
We struggled largely to cause serious trouble to our rivals, but we did manage to get that all-important goal, although in controversial circumstance.
Danny Rose had played the ball out with their player down on the ground, but Lacazette opted not to give the ball back to the Hornets, and we ultimately scored from the action, with Ben White being dispossessed on the edge of the box, only for the loose ball to fall into the path of ESR, and he didn’t turn down the chance to send it home.
We then had the ball in the net once again after Bukayo Saka and substitute Martin Odegaard had carved out an opportunity in the box, only for an offside Auba to tap the ball in when it had already been destined to cross the line without his input.
The stats showed that our dominance was throughout, with us having at least two thirds of the possession for much of the 90 minutes, but it was definitely a day to forget for Aubameyang on a personal front, one which may be forgiven thanks to the final result.
On a positive note, Smith Rowe’s goal means that he is the youngest Arsenal midfielder to score in three consecutive matches, joining Jose Reyes and Nicolas Anelka as the only under-21 players to complete the feat.
Patrick