Watford was much tougher than I expected. The Gunners dominated possession but still would have dropped two points had Watford managed a third. All the goals were top quality, and it was a good spectacle as well as a welcome three points. Watford had the ball in the net after 17 seconds, but the goalscorer was a yard offside. Ødegaard scored a legal goal on five minutes after a slick one-two with Saka, then Watford's Hernandez executed a magnificent bicycle kick to even things up. Not long after, it was Saka's turn to be set up for a great finish to restore our lead. Early in the second half, Lacazette set up Martinelli for another superb strike. Things looked easy for the Arsenal at this point, but Watford got a goal in the 87th minute to set up a tense finish. Despite the charged atmosphere and energetic play, there were few fouls and just three yellows in the game; this was a very polite contest between next door neighbors. (I have been at Watford's training ground for a frisbee tournament, and it is literally adjacent to Arsenal's. In fact, it was Arsenal's old training ground before they built their current one.)
We're in fourth place for the moment, ahead of Man U's game at Man City. There will be twists and turns, no doubt. We have 13 games left, three of them against our direct rivals for European places. We need to be better than we were at the back today, but the goal production is good.
It ended up not costing us, but Ramsdale had a stinker today, giving the ball away twice in situations that really should have gifted the Hornets a goal. Gabriel and White have both been better as well. Xhaka had a late brain fart immediately preceding Watford's second goal. There's plenty for Arteta to discuss with the troops.
It has been a great weekend for Arsenal so far, with Wolves, West Ham, and United all losing, while we won. Tottenham plays Everton tomorrow, which should mean three points for Spurs, but Arsenal managed to lose to Everton in the Fall, so who knows? I'm not complacent. Our squad is thin and we're a hamstring or ankle injury away from losing an important player for whom we have no replacement of that quality. Saka and Ødegaard are particularly important. Smith-Rowe is a great replacement for either of them, but past him, it would be difficult to find as good all-around players. If we stay fit, we're favorites for 4th place. If.
We did our part to help your cause, scoring early and then holding against the Wolves, and I agree that you look solid in 4th. MU lost again to MU. In the US, DC pulled a minor miracle short handed to hold on and then down Cincinnati on a late PK.
ReplyDeleteScott Willis's always excellent "By the NUmbers" feature on Arseblog ( https://arseblog.news/2022/03/watford-2-3-arsenal-by-the-numbers/ ) shows how reliant the Gunners were on their remarkable finishing in that game. Watford actually had (on paper) the better performance in terms of shots on target and expected goals. Yet it never seemed that Arsenal was second best in the game. Football is funny like that. The lesson, which did not cost us any points, is to tighten up at the back while keeping the pressure on up front. Arteta was unhappy even when the game looked won, and afterwards pointed out how poorly we managed the game.
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