I admit I was concerned when we didn't score after an hour. The first half was full of action, but not goals. Watford was very aggressive. Their high pressure resulted in a fair number of turnovers, but Arsenal had the ball in their end for several opportunities too. I was impressed with the intensity of both squads. Arsenal had more talent, and that was obvious; but it did not translate into a lead before the half. The first 15 minutes of the second half looked much like the first 45: Arsenal mostly on top but Watford threatening on occasion. Then came 11 minutes that resembled those 13 glorious minutes at the Emirates two weeks ago, and the three points were assured.
It looked to me as though we simply wore them out. Troy Deeney, their best player on the day, was gasping for breath towards the end. As the Brazilians say, "The ball has no lungs." With Arsenal having most of the possession and sublime ball control, Watford players had to run and reverse directions more often than ours did. The role of conditioning is sometimes overlooked, but in this game it was glaring. Aaron Ramsey was a machine. He runs as much as any EPL player. Near the end of the game, he still looked relatively fresh. He's involved in lots of chances and before today had as many shots as anyone in then league who hadn't scored. It was great to see him do it today. Without Ramsey-like reserves of energy, Watford was unable to keep closing us down and tracking our runs. The last half hour was very different from the 62 minutes that preceded it. Ramsey said in an interview that Watford groundskeeping had not watered the pitch, making it slow. They adjusted very well to that.
Some random observations:
Walcott looked a lot less effective. I think that's partly because Watford's aggressive defense didn't allow Ozil, Ramsey, Cazorla etc. the time and space to launch diagonal balls or long passes over the top at just the right moments. He doesn't hold the ball up and he's hopeless in the air. His link-up play and finishing are much improved, though. I'm still not convinced he's better up front than Giroud or even a healthy Welbeck. We really need a striker.
Koscielny played well, but at times he seemed not to be 100%. I hope his hamstring is healed. There was talk of Gabriel having an operation (Arsenal said he was out of the lineup due to "illness").
Our fullbacks are fantastic. We need to find games for Gibbs and Debuchy, but it's tough to sit Bellerin or Monreal. (Jenkinson scored for West Ham today.)
Our mids and wingers were all very good today. However, Arteta definitely looked rusty--or is it just old?--when he came in. And Oxlade-Chamberlain has lost his way. He dribbles too much (Wilshere syndrome) and never seems confident in his shot. Alexis attempts a lot of dribbles too, but his are more often successful and often end with a good shot or pass.
Boy was I wrong about Cech. He's still got it. I don't see why he can't be given the #1 shirt and be our first string keeper for another two years at least. After his howler against Olympiakos, Ospina knows it's merited.
The Manchester clubs also won easily, making for a tight race so far. Wenger will be desperate to salvage his Champions' League hopes, so he has some difficult choices to make in the coming weeks. He won't want to lose ground to City, who are still the favorites. Not everyone will stay healthy. And there's no satisfactory replacement for what Alexis and Coquelin bring to the team.
And another shout-out to Shad Forsythe, who's keeping Arsenal as fit as I can remember it ever being.
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