Arsenal beat Watford 3-1 at Vicarage Road to hand themselves their first victory of the season.
After a disappointing start to the 2016/17 season, Arsenal got back to winning ways as they dispatched Watford 3-1 at Vicarge Road. Santi Cazorla opened the scoring for the Gunners as he coolly slotted home a penalty earned by Alexis Sanchez.
A few minutes later, Sanchez grabbed a goal for himself after which he set up Mesut Ozil to make the score 3-0 going into half-time.
Watford came back all guns blazing in the second period, but could only manage to get one goal for their exploits. New signing Roberto Pereyra stepped up to the task and scored on his Premier League debut.
Here are the five talking points from the game:
Mesut Ozil turns things around for Arsenal
Following an extended leave due to a strenuous Euro 2016 campaign, German midfielder Mesut Ozil finally returned to the fray and was named in the Arsenal starting eleven. Within moments, his presence could be felt as he began to make things tick for his teammates.
Ozil was constantly on his toes and his movement on and off the ball was second to none. He played a key role in Arsenal’s opener as he picked out Alexis Sanchez who was brought down inside the box handing Arsene Wenger’s side a penalty early on.
Then, the German magician got his name on the scoresheet scoring with a wonderfully headed goal to triple the advantage for his side. Sanchez returned the favour for his strike by playing in an exquisite ball into the stride of Ozil.
Alexis Sanchez stars playing as a lone striker
Speaking about Sanchez, the Chilean had an impressive outing at Vicarage Road. Many expected Olivier Giroud to return to the fray after Sanchez had an awful game against Leicester. However, Wenger vested his faith in him and the 27-year-old duly delivered.
He proved to be a constant threat to Watford’s back three and along with Ozil, the prolific duo wreaked havoc inside the opposition penalty area. Sanchez played a part in all three of Arsenal’s goals on the day.
He earned the penalty which Cazorla slotted him to open proceedings for Arsenal. He then went on to score the second in a scrappy manner as his mishit shot luckily found its way into the back of the net. A few minutes later he assisted Ozil for the Gunners’ third goal of the game.
It was all in all an impressive performance from the Chilean who had been low on confidence after the first two games of the season.
Watford’s substitutions give them a glimmer of hope
After seeing his side being decimated in the first half, manager Walter Mazzarri decided to turn things around as he threw in new signings Roberto Pereyra and Darryl Janmaat in the 46th and 52nd minute respectively.
Their impact was evident as the Hornets looked like a more attacking unit as they began surging upfront. Pereyra grabbed the headlines for Mazzarri’s side by scoring a goal on his debut, which reduced the deficit to two goals.
Watford had a couple of decent chances in the latter stages of the game, but Petr Cech was up to the ask and did not let anything past him.
Rob Holding has improved since his shambolic debut against Liverpool
It wasn’t the dream beginning for Arsenal’s new signing Rob Holding had hoped for. Moving to the Emirates from Bolton, the young English defender did not expect to be a regular starter but due to Arsenal’s injury worries, he was forced to play the entire 90 minutes against Liverpool.
Holding looked raw and off the pace and failed to take charge of things in defence. He was outrun by the pacey Liverpool forwards and saw his side on the receiving end of four goals. However, a week later against Leicester City, there was a meteoric rise in his performance.
Even in Saturday’s game against Watford, the defender looked up to the task. He formed a good understanding with Laurent Koscielny and the two kept things tidy at the back for Arsenal. They were unlucky to concede a goal, but apart from that it was a seamless performance from the former Bolton centre-back.
Olivier Giroud remains an unused substitute
Much like Ozil, Giroud returned from a summer hiatus in last week’s draw against Leicester. The French striker was expected to be named in the starting eleven, but Wenger opted to go for Sanchez. It was indeed a wise move as the Chilean put in a Man of the Match effort to guarantee his side’s victory of the season.
The end seems to be near for Giroud as Lucas Perez will be joining the side within the next few days and is expected to give the Frenchman a run for his money. Wenger may even decide to field Sanchez as a regular number nine, which could see Giroud fall down in the pecking order at the Emirates.
