A tenth game in a row unbeaten served to underline how, in a week of sackings, Arsenal can be commended for sticking with Mikel Arteta. His team are climbing towards a top-four spot almost imperceptibly and certainly unencumbered by the distraction of European competition.
This was Arteta’s 100th game in charge of Arsenal and the Spaniard is proud mostly of having brought unity. He did so via a circuitous route. The 39-year-old inherited a fractured dressing room, rebuilt morale only to lose it again as results dipped but, when at his lowest ebb after the 5-0 defeat by Manchester City in September, found a new version.
No one internally blamed him for the team’s early-season slump and that comprehensive vote of confidence led to improved results. We were all watching Arteta, the Premier League’s youngest manager, learn on the job but it started to feel like a privilege rather than schadenfreude.
The home side did, however, take their time to get to grips with this contest and some early blips, including a goal disallowed for offside, might have led to sagging shoulders a few months ago, but Arteta’s side plugged away.
Danny Rose felled Alexandre Lacazette in the 34th minute as the pair tried to reach a high ball. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang took the penalty but even though Ben Foster dived to his right, the Watford goalkeeper was sufficiently alert to block the centrally placed spot kick with a reaction reminiscent of a flying squirrel. Arteta, presumably in the spirit of new-found unity, said that Aubameyang will stay on penalty duty, if he wants to, despite also missing from the spot two weeks ago against Aston Villa.
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The close shave invigorated Watford and Juraj Kucka bulldozed up the field to almost score. Foster then saved well from a close-range Gabriel header as an ill-tempered half drew to a close.
Claudio Ranieri, the Watford head coach, had made five changes prompted by the defeat by Southampton a week earlier and his team maintained a chastened demeanour. Watford were mostly stodgy in outlook. As the home side looked for runs and space and skipped energetically, if not always productively, the visitors remained deadpan, intent on killing the hosts’ playfulness. Even Ranieri paced his technical area, as though forced to attend against his will.
The second half started with Arsenal endeavoring to recapture the best of their earlier zest and Foster held a strike from Albert Sambi Lokonga. The mood of the crowd turned in the 55th minute, frustrated by too many frills accompanied by too little penetration, and the response on the pitch was impressively immediate. Ben White stormed forward, the Watford defence wobbled and White’s through-ball was pounced on by Emile Smith Rowe, whose measured finish gave Arsenal the lead. Watford bemoaned the fact that, despite a VAR check in the build-up to the goal, Ainsley Maitland-Niles had fouled Ismaila Sarr. Watford had also, earlier in the build-up, put the ball out for an injury to Ozan Tufan only for Arsenal not to return it.
“I told him [Arteta] there is no respect in that action,” Ranieri said. “We put out the ball and everybody expected Arsenal to give it back. Give the ball to us, we put the ball out because there was an injured player.”
In response, Arteta said that his players are the “most honest” in the league, to the point that they can sometimes be naive.
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His team’s ability to move up the gears when under the cosh, rather than stall, must partly be down to this being their first season for 26 years without European football. They are neither tired nor distracted and if the crowd demands more oomph then they can, by and large, provide it.
If anything, Aubameyang was too keen, wanting to atone for his penalty miss, and in stretching to reach a shot from Martin Odegaard ensured simply that the effort was offside when it need not have been. Kucka was dismissed for a second bookable offence in the dying minutes as Watford’s resilience petered out — except for Foster, who then denied Lokonga from long range.
Watching on was Josh Kroenke, Arsenal director and son of Stan, the club’s principal owner, who last week reiterated that Arsenal are not for sale and that he and his father have long-term plans to bring success.
A narrow win over Watford did not feel like a reboot of a dynasty but, given how drably this campaign began, it was almost magical.
Arsenal (4-4-1-1) A Ramsdale — T Tomiyasu, B White, Gabriel, N Tavares — B Saka (G Martinelli 90+3), A Sambi Lokonga, A Maitland-Niles, E Smith Rowe (M Elneny 86) — A Lacazette (M Odegaard 69) — P-E Aubameyang. Booked Tomiyasu, Gabriel, Sambi Lokonga, Aubameyang.
Watford (4-1-4-1) B Foster —D Rose, N N’Koulou, C Cathcart (A Fletcher 90+4), K Femenía — M Sissoko — E Bonaventure (C Hernández 74), O Tufan (J Pedro 62), J Kucka, I Sarr — J King. Booked Sissoko, King, Kucka. Sent off Kucka.
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Referee K Friend.
Attendance 59,833.
