Football
Michael Cox, ESPN.com writer 7y

Arsenal lack midfield inspiration, drop crucial points in shock Watford defeat

LONDON -- Here are three thoughts from Arsenal's 2-1 loss to Watford at the Emirates.

1. Arsenal suffer shock Watford defeat

Arsene Wenger famously used to claim "he hadn't seen the incident" when his players found themselves in trouble, but he'll have witnessed this shock defeat to Watford very clearly indeed.

In his programme notes, Wenger noted that his enforced elevated position afforded him a better view of the overall picture. The picture here? Watford dominance. Although Wenger has experienced half-time and full-time boos from around the Emirates many times, it must have sounded particularly daunting from his position in the crowd.

In truth, this wasn't a bad game to have a touchline ban. On a horribly rainy night in north London, Wenger's opposite number, Walter Mazzarri, stood on the touchline, hood up, getting absolutely drenched. Wenger was at least dry, lurking at the back of the stands and in radio contact with assistant Steve Bould throughout, but they couldn't engineer a comeback.

Mazzarri's impressive Watford went ahead in somewhat fortunate circumstances, when Younes Kaboul's powerful, 30-yard free kick deflected off Aaron Ramsey's thigh and wrong-footed Petr Cech. Teams who take an early lead away at the Emirates generally sit much deeper and play on the counter-attack, but Watford just kept coming. Their second goal, a Troy Deeney tap-in following a storming run through the centre of the pitch by man-of-the-match Etienne Capoue, was hardly against the run of play. In fact, Arsenal didn't manage a single shot on target in the first half, whereas Watford continued to threaten with attempts from Capoue and centre-back Sebastian Prodl.

Arsenal rallied after half-time and tested Heurelho Gomes on multiple occasions before Alex Iwobi's cool volley got them back into the game. But then they failed to push on and lacked inspiration from midfield. Saturday's trip to Stamford Bridge has now become, somewhat ominously, a must-win game.

2. Arsenal title aspirations take a hit

This is a devastating blow to Arsenal's slim title aspirations. They were second-best from the outset: sloppy with their passing and slow to second balls after they'd been dispossessed. They still desperately miss the guile and energy of Santi Cazorla, the deep playmaker who sets the tempo for their passing combinations. They never got going, the crowd became restless, and Mesut Ozil stood with his hands on his hips, having badly over-hit a cross. This was supposed to be a simple home victory.

At half-time, things improved. Having been forced to use his first substitution midway through the first half, when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaced the injured Ramsey, Wenger -- via Bould -- elected to use Theo Walcott. Surprisingly, it was the in-form Giroud who made way, with Alexis Sanchez pushing up top, Walcott playing from the right and Iwobi switching to the opposite flank. Arsenal wanted to trouble Watford with pace.

Walcott made an immediate impact and had two good chances in the first five minutes of the second half. First he scuffed a low drive wide, then Ozil switched the play to him for a one-on-one after good work by Iwobi down low. Gomes advanced and made a fine save.

Suddenly, it was all Arsenal. Iwobi, Arsenal's liveliest player, checked inside and fired a low shot, which forced another superb Gomes save. The crowd got going. Arsenal won second balls, with Sanchez setting the example from his new centre-forward role. Ozil had a snapshot after the ball bounced around in the box, but Gomes saved again. Suddenly, Watford couldn't get possession. Deeney was barely involved and then, bizarrely, shot from 40 yards when the ball finally came his way. Arsenal's goal was coming, and when Sanchez drifted right and chipped to the far post, Iwobi's cool, stabbed volley bounced home. It was 1-2. Game on.

Then there was a lull, as if Arsenal realised they could be calmer now. Ten minutes later, Lucas Perez was summoned in place of Francis Coquelin. It was no all-out attack: Iwobi, Perez, Sanchez and Walcott across the frontline, with Ozil and Oxlade-Chamberlain in midfield. It's difficult to remember a more attacking Arsenal XI, but perhaps Arsenal's lack of numbers in midfield proved counter-productive. Only a powerful Perez shot out of nothing, which slammed the crossbar, genuinely threatened. Arsenal struggled to enforce long spells of pressure in the closing stages, and Watford -- now using the widely anticipated deep block and sitting deeper and deeper on a sodden Emirates pitch -- rode out the storm.

3. Watford's frustrating, match-winning approach

The worst-case scenario for Arsenal, seemingly, was Watford simply frustrating them because Mazzarri's lineup contained no fewer than four centre-backs: Craig Cathcart, Kaboul, Prodl and Miguel Britos. It was going to be one of those evenings for Arsenal, with the opposition sitting deep and narrow, conceding possession and making it impossible to play through them.

Or so we thought. Instead, Watford genuinely outplayed Arsenal in the first period. Their defence played narrow but took a surprisingly high defensive line, which kept Giroud outside the penalty box. Sanchez ran in behind a couple times but spent longer periods dropping deep and checking inside into midfield.

Arsenal had little width. On the opposite flank, Iwobi drifted inside and swapped positions with Ozil, which didn't work well, considering Gabriel was at right-back (Hector Bellerin wasn't risked from the outset, having only just returned from injury in the weekend win over Southampton) and annoyed the home supporters with a poor cross in the opening stages. Nacho Monreal pushed forward more positively but was harshly booked for diving when he lost his footing on an extremely slippery pitch.

Watford won the midfield battle. Valon Behrami sat deep but prowled the midfield zone with menace. Tom Cleverley was, as always, useful and tidy without excelling, while Capoue was genuinely magnificent. His work for Watford's second goal summarised his all-round game. He intercepted a Gabriel throw intended for Ramsey and stormed past challenges from Coquelin and Skhodran Mustafi, and while his shot was saved by Cech, Deeney converted into an open goal. It was also notable that Watford kept winning free kicks from Arsenal in midfield -- something of a role reversal, considering the Hornets have the worst disciplinary record in the league and also commit the most fouls.

There were encouraging signs too from loanee M'Baye Niang. Although he badly lost his way at Milan with inconsistent performances and off-field misdemeanours usually involving cars, he's an exciting box of tricks capable of outfoxing opponents. Gabriel didn't cope with his trickery here, booked for an awfully late tackle midway through the first half, and Niang always offered a counter-attacking threat. His flashes of directness contrasted sharply with Arsenal's sluggish attacking.

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