The first half saw an even contest with Arsenal creating several excellent chances and Watford’s physical play keeping Arsenal on their toes.
The first chance fell to Alexis Sanchez, who cut inside and unleashed a howitzer, which was a little too close to Watford’s keeper Gomes.
Aaron Ramsey missed the best opportunity of the half, when he hit Sanchez’s sublime pass over the bar, similar to the chance he missed against Manchester United two weeks ago.
Watford’s best chance came from Deeney, who hit a powerful blast right at Cech, who made the save.
In the second half Arsenal started to take over and they finally broke Watford’s resistance when Mesut Ozil surged into the box, was tripped, but Alexis pounced on the loose ball and thumped it home.
I suspect the referee was about to blow the whistle but waited to see what Alexis would do.
Mesut Ozil would then cross the ball to Olivier Giroud, who smashed the ball home, securing the victory for Arsenal.
Aaron Ramsey finally scored the third, his first of the season, when he received a pass from Bellerin, who’d tiptoed his way into the box, and slipped the ball past the sprawling Gomes.
Arsenal now have to face Bayern Munich, a game that they need to win in order to advance to the second round of the Champions League.
Player Ratings:
Cech 7: He made a decent save off Deeney, but didn’t have too many other saves to make. Was lucky not to be penalized when the ball skipped off his hand outside the box as the referee didn’t see it.
Bellerin 8: One of his best games of the season, courtesy of his attacking play. He made a number of runs into the box, one of which led to Ramsey’s goal, another run and cross almost found Monreal. He made a few mistakes defensively and he had a tough time dealing with Watford’s physicality, but he still was solid.
Mertesacker 7: He had a tough game as well playing against Deeney, but made the plays when he needed to. Received a yellow card, mainly due to his lack of pace and having to foul.
Koscielny 7: Took a number of tumbles and a smack in the face and he had to stay on his toes against the dangerous Ighalo. Almost scored from a corner when he shot wide.
Monreal 7: He had a good game playing both defensively and offensively.
Coquelin 7: A strong game, but he had some trouble with the taller Capoue in the first half. He became more dominant in the second half.
Cazorla 8: He had an excellent second half. Some of his twisting and turning to get out of trouble are worth the price of admission to see.
Ramsey 8: Probably his best game of the year. You just got the feeling that he was going to score today as he was constantly roaming around the box having chances. He squandered several, but he finally slotted home his first goal of the season in the second half.
Ozil 8: He was a key part of the first two goals. He started to come into the game just before halftime and then he continued to percolate in the second half.
Walcott 6: Theo contributed little to this victory. His best chance saw him move too quickly into an offside position and squander a great through ball from Coquelin. Otherwise he never managed to get much possession.
Sanchez 8: Man of the match. A poacher’s goal was his major contribution, but he created a number of chances for others and a couple for himself.
Substitutes:
Oxlade-Chamberlain n/a. Wasn’t able to influence the game in the time he was on the field. Arteta n/a. Like the Ox, he didn’t do too much of note.