Arsenal travel to Watford in their first game post the international break, and Unai Emery’s men will be confident following their strong comeback in the last Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur. The Gunners came back to level the game after being two goals down in the first half.
Their opponents on Sunday, Watford, are bottom of the table after losing three of their first four games in the Premier League. The Hornets have a new manager as Quique Sánchez Flores returns to the club after the sacking of Javi Gracia.
WATFORD vs ARSENAL: 3 THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Watford under new manager
Watford, surprisingly, sacked manager Javi Gracia, and even more surprisingly, re-hired former manager Quique Sánchez Flores, in the space of an hour. Watford are bottom of the table after losing three of their four games and drawing the other. The Hornets have conceded 8 goals in 4 games while scoring just 2 – the lowest in the Premier League so far.
It will be interesting to see the tactics employed by Flores, and if Watford’s players will up their game, as has been evidenced previously when a new manager takes over a club. The Premier League side have been woeful in front of goal, which should be the first area that Flores needs to improve even though the returning manager is renowned for his ability to shore up his team’s defence.
Arsenal’s defensive frailties and discipline
The signing of David Luiz from Chelsea has not turned out the way Arsenal manager Unai Emery would have wanted it to. Luiz has made critical errors which have led to the Gunners conceding goals, while the absence of Hector Bellerin and the uncertainty regarding the left-back spot has caused Emery all sorts of problems.
That, coupled with the unnecessary mistakes committed by captain Granit Xhaka has compounded Arsenal’s defensive woes. The Swiss midfielder will be under scrutiny this week after another costly error against the Spurs.
Gunners’ exciting attacking trio
While the Arsenal defence has been porous, their attack is exciting and has a few goals in them every game. The attacking trio of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe has flair and pace, which could give the Watford defenders sleepless nights.
Pepe is coming into his own after making the switch from Lille to Arsenal, and his full potential could be unleashed against an under-confident Watford defence.