Arsenal vs Watford Player Ratings

Arsenal’s F.A. Cup three-peat prospects were put to bed by Watford, who secured a memorable 2-1 victory at the Emirates. Here are the player ratings.

Arsenal’s last-minute push gave them one goal back with less than ten minutes to go, but it was not enough to overcome two brilliant strikes from Odion Ighalo and Adlene Guedioura.

The Gunners lacked tempo and attacking drive for much of the game, and they failed to outmaneuver Watford’s pressure high up the field. Quique Flores set his team up very well, using his two hard-working forwards Deeney and Ighalo to pressure the Arsenal players in Arsenal’s middle and defensive third.

The Hornets strangled the game and made it very difficult for Arsenal to get any of their standard attacking momentum that they usually build when they play at home. All it took was some poor defending that allowed Odion Ighalo some space in the box, and that was 1-0.

Twelve minutes later, a pass from Troy Deeney set up Adlene Guedioura outside the box, and he launced an absolute thunder-strike with his first touch of the ball, sending it into the top right corner past David Ospina.

Substitutions were made by Arsene Wenger in an effort to give his team more life, but only Danny Welbeck and Mesut Ozil could combine for one moment of brilliance that brought Arsenal back into the match. Apart from that, it was typical Arsenal – many, many missed chances.

Here are the player ratings.

GK. Arsenal FC. DAVID OSPINA. 5.8. David Ospina was beaten twice by two great finishes today, but he didn’t make his usual share of reflex saves that earn him his regular plaudits. In fact, he made <em>zero</em> reflex saves, and zero saves in general.

CALUM CHAMBERS. 6.3. Arsenal’s young utility man Calum Chambers was of not much use playing at right back, a position he hasn’t played all season. In defensive midfield, where Wenger has thrown him in, the Englishman has looked far more comfortable. Today, he was sub-par, not doing much other than passing the ball or clearing it.. RB. Arsenal FC

6.1. Gabriel should have been sent off after he made a horrible, horrible challenge in the first half. His composure was not present, and he is incapable of communicating with Per Mertesacker to the point where they are virtually never coordinating any defensive duties for anybody when they are starting at the back. Much work ahead is needed.. CB. Arsenal FC. GABRIEL PAULISTA

PER MERTESACKER. 7.0. Per Mertesacker is brilliant at physical defending, but he must be more of a coordinator and he must be able to delegate duties that he can’t do himself to his teammates. The German made <a href=. CB. Arsenal FC

6.9. Kieran Gibbs was very present on the attacking end for Arsenal, and he was also able to make multiple defensive headers, interceptions and clearances. The Englishman is making a claim for a first-team spot over Nacho Monreal, but he is also still out of position frequently and needs to be more disciplined.. LB. Arsenal FC. KIERAN GIBBS

7.1. Francis Coquelin made a number of successful dribbles as well as a number of tackles today, and controlled his sector of defensive midfield well when his time came. He seems to much like a stagnant role player at times, though – I haven’t seen him add anything to his game since he got an opportunity to play first-team football.. MID. Arsenal FC. FRANCIS COQUELIN

6.7. Mohamed El Neny had a decent game from box to box today, but he was given a number of chances to score his first goal and he couldn’t manage it. Other than one shot from outside the box that swerved into Costel Pantilimon’s hands, he fired a few shots over the bar. It’s clear that he needs time to gel with his new teammates, but he’s progressing.. MID. Arsenal FC. MOHAMED EL NENY

6.0. Joel Campbell was quite inactive today, he only managed one dribble which is the <a href=. MID. Arsenal FC. JOEL CAMPBELL

MESUT OZIL. 8.0. MAN OF THE MATCH: Mesut Ozil continues to show Arsenal fans why he was their club-record signing, and it was a back-heel from him that gave the Gunners their only goal of the match. If there was one complaint to make, it would be that he could actually provide more standard chances for his teammates than he does at the moment. Though his passes are often successful, they are often too intricate for his fellow attackers to do anything with.. MID. Arsenal FC

6.8. Even though Alexis Sanchez made eight successful dribbles against the right side of the Watford defense today, he has clearly run out of ideas and it was a surprise that he wasn’t tackled more often than he was today. His natural instinct to cut inside and shoot is a good one – however, he needs to switch up his play going forward if he wants to be successful. Too many top-level defenses in the Premier League have caught on, and even the mid-table and lower half sides have seen exactly what the Chilean is up to.. MID. Arsenal FC. ALEXIS SANCHEZ

OLIVIER GIROUD. 6.5. A languid, lackluster performance from Olivier Giroud today. He gave the Gunners a lead and had it unfairly disallowed in the first half, but after that he was thoroughly ineffective and failed to hit the target more than once. In the second half he was stopped from scoring a tap-in by a good save from Costel Pantilimon, but other than that his impact was minimal.. ST. Arsenal FC

5.9. What on earth has happened to this player? He was completely absent from the match when he came on, he looked dejected and didn’t have the air of excitement that one would expect from a professional footballer getting to do what they love.. MID. Arsenal FC. THEO WALCOTT

DANNY WELBECK. 7.0. Welbeck came on as a sub and immediately gave the Gunners a boost of energy, always running in behind or running at defenders. Solid finish for the first Arsenal goal after a nice back-heel assist from Mesut Ozil, but missed an absolute <span style=. ST. Arsenal FC

Next: Danny Welbeck the Key To Unlock This Season

6.7. The young Nigerian Iwobi came off the bench and had a solid outing, hitting the post with a long shot as well as drawing saves from Pantilimon with other shots from outside the box. It remains to be seen what kind of player he truly is, but he looked comfortable in the center for the brief period he was involved.. MID. Arsenal FC. ALEX IWOBI