Watford v Arsenal early thoughts on crucial game

Last season I would have been a lot more worried at the prospect of this match up but considering the start Watford have experienced and the way Arsenal is starting to gel I am fairly confident that Arsenal will depart Vicarage Road with all three points.

That does not mean I am being complacent, Watford will not continue playing poorly and they are under new management following the sacking of Javi Gracia and that tends to give teams a boost when they get a new boss.

But I cannot ignore the positives surrounding Arsenal, the team is looking a lot more settled, yes, they lost to Liverpool and was disappointing against Tottenham but even in those matches, I saw enough to give me hope for a good season.

The character shown coming back from 2-0 down to Spurs showed me this team believes in themselves, they know they are a good team and that on their day they can beat almost anyone.

The Arsenal frontline is going to cause Watford problems all day long, especially if Unai Emery goes with the front three from the start with Ceballos just behind them, that will be formidable.

The problem areas are the midfield and defence and the lads will have to step up to the plate and perform better than they have done recently. The defence must cut out the mistakes and the midfield needs to be more intelligent.

As long as Emery gets his team selection right and the players play how we know they can then it really should be all three points for Arsenal.

We have to stop being our own biggest enemies.

17 Comments

  1. Well it will such if we lose or draw considering they are 20th place in the league table

    Nevertheless I think it will be tough away match. I don’t think they will be last place for long btw.

    But I think we will win.
    1-2 Arsenal

    Our last two matches were a loss and a draw. So we really need a win.

      1. It all depends on the team Emery picks, i.e. not three basically defensive midfielders, Ceballos must start. What tactics Emery apples to the team and finally the teams attitude. Watford have some really good players and having a ”new” manager, will be eager to impress. Unfortunately I fear Emery’s tinkering and think it will be 2-2 with Aubameyang and Welbeck scoring.

        1. I’m afraid Emery would opt for a three-CB formation, to play super safe again

          I wanna see this 4-2-3-1 line-up, because the players are obviously not ready to play with 4-3-3 yet:

          ……………………… Leno
          Maitland-Niles . Sokratis . Luiz . Kolasinac
          …………… Willock ……….. Guendouzi
          Pepe ………………. Ceballos ……….. Martinelli
          …………………… Lacazette

          1. Gotanidea what makes you think he will set up with 3 at the back? has he used 3 CBs this season? Take some time to go through your thoughts before posting them.

  2. I see a 1-2 or 1-3 score line in favour to us as long as Emery can show a little positivity in the squad he puts out .
    I would imagine fans will be pissed if he plays a defensive formation again ,there is no need to show Watford respect ,bottom of the league manager just sacked go for the jugular and show the fans some exciting football for a change .
    Hopefully we get to see Ozil start and show us what we have been missing this season so far

    1. It’s gonna be an away match in EPL and Ceballos is fit, hence I don’t think Emery would ask Ozil to start

      I think he would play after the 60th minute or when Arsenal play in Frankfurt on the 19th

      1. I think there is Abit of a myth going round on this website that Cebellos is a number 10 .he can play anyway across the middle ..
        So him and Ozil starting in the same team is something that can be achieved aslong as Emery as got some balls .

  3. well if we were to lose this game then i would consider our league over for us , meaning that we will not finish inside the top four these are they types of games that we must win in any way possible. if it turns out to be a one nil ugly win for us then i will be very happy . there is always another day for the pretty game.

  4. I think the biggest problem that AFC has now is how our Coach selects his team with each match. He either get it right or he bungles it.

  5. Any squad close to this will get us a win with more than 4 goals.

    Martinez
    Mustafi…Sokratis…Luiz…Kolasinac
    Guendouzi…Torreira…Ceballos
    Pepe….Aubameyang….Ozil

    4 points to note:
    1. Martinez >>> Leno
    2. Mustafi is needed since he’s a better defender and header of ball
    3. Aubameyang has to lead arsenal line
    4. Ozil is better creatively than even Ceballos

  6. The Arsenal offence is scary.
    Unfortunately the Arsenal defense is even more scary 🙂

    Leno
    Bellerin Socrates Chambers Tierney
    Torreiera Ceballos
    Ozil
    Pepe Lacazette Auba

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