Arsenal Vs Watford Player Ratings

Arsenal got some revenge after their surprising F.A. Cup exit to Watford, and beat them 4-0 at the Emirates. Here are Pain in the Arsenal’s Player Ratings.

Arsenal roared back from a previous defeat in their second match with Watford at the Emirates this season, showing some typical offensive prowess to crush the Hornets 4-0.

Arsenal’s attacking midfield displayed some trademark Arsenal characteristics with their play, breaking Watford down with ease over and over again and managing twelve shots on target .

The wide attacking players in particular combined with forward Danny Welbeck excellently. That attacking speed has been missing in a lot of games in this recent winter period, due to injuries to Welbeck, Alexis Sanchez, and Santi Cazorla.(Not to mention, poor form from Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, and Olivier Giroud – who doesn’t provide much attacking speed when he is in the game).

Alex Iwobi was given another start by Arsene Wenger after the young Nigerian’s successful efforts to trouble Everton’s defense last time out.

Iwobi controlled the Hornets’ defensive third with Alexis Sanchez on the opposite flank. Not only did he finish off a chance that was provided for him by Sanchez, who cut in from the wing and took two defenders out of the game, but he also hit the crossbar with a curling effort that had Hurelho Gomes beaten completely.

Anyway, here are the player ratings.

6.6. Wasn’t very busy today. Didn’t do much other than parry a few efforts, as Watford only managed two shots on target. Looked confident when parrying shots, but we all know already that shot-stopping is his strength.. GK. Arsenal FC. DAVID OSPINA

Arsenal FC. HECTOR BELLERIN. 8.2. Played a <em>key</em> role in the attacking buildup with Mohamed El Neny and Alexis Sanchez on the right side of the pitch. Amazing speed allows him to overlap with frequency, and when he does it effectively, meaning accurate passing (92 percent today), he’s devastating to the opposition. Got a goal for his efforts after a deflected shot beat Gomes in the second half. Bellerin needs to be consistent with these performances – if he reaches that level, he’s in the conversation for the best right back in world football.. RB

CB. Arsenal FC. GABRIEL PAULISTA. 6.9. Arsenal did so much attacking today, Gabriel Paulista – the king of the aggressive tackle – made <em>zero</em> tackles in the match. He won two aerial challenges of a possible five, not great, but other than that his defensive duties were alleviated by the pair of Francis Coquelin and Mohamed El Neny. Looked confident, though. I’m comfortable with Gabriel against teams that have off-form attacking players.

8.1. Commanding performance from Arsenal’s best center back, as we’ve seen this season by a country mile. Won all of his aerial challenges but one, a total of five successful defensive headers, and didn’t get dribbled once by a Watford attacker. You could see he instilled confidence in the players in front of him, unlike when Mertesacker is the most experienced center back on the field.. CB. Arsenal FC. LAURENT KOSCIELNY

NACHO MONREAL. 7.6. Solid performance from Monreal. He didn’t go forward as much on the overlap like Bellerin did, but he did stay back on the defensive end of the ball and shore up Arsenal’s left defensive end. Watford had a lot of room on that side in the previous matchup, and the Spaniard was clearly aware of that. Good performance.. LB. Arsenal FC

FRANCIS COQUELIN. 8.4. Successful in <a href=. MID. Arsenal FC

8.3. Outstanding ability from El Neny to pass the ball between multiple teammates in quick succession. It ensures that players don’t get starved of the ball in the build-up, and it seems to generate positivity within the attacking play. The Egyptian looks like a really solid player for the future, and I can only see him learning more things about the Premier League in the future.. MID. Arsenal FC. MOHAMED EL NENY

8.7. MAN OF THE MATCH. Dominating performance from the young Nigerian dynamo. He seems to be improving game after game. Made some great runs in behind the defense as well as having great shots at goal. Doesn’t have a hesitancy to shoot, and while he’s on form it is extremely effective because of how much he directly tests the opposing defense and keeper. Scored as well as hitting the crossbar once.. MID. Arsenal FC. ALEX IWOBI

7.9. Sometimes it appears as if every time the rest of the Arsenal team plays, Mesut Ozil thinks it’s okay to glide around in second gear and not do a whole lot in the final third. Extremely accurate with his passing, made plenty of unlocking passes in the midfield to help Arsenal get a leg up on Watford’s midfield. The great thing about Ozil is that he’s capable of doing that, distributing the ball and letting other people take the game to the opposition when they are having a great day on the ball.. MID. Arsenal FC. MESUT OZIL

8.3. Got a good goal in the first half that came from a Gomes error, but nonetheless a positive performance. Pleasing to see the Chilean get back on the scoresheet after a dry run in the Premier League that had lasted quite a long time. Hopefully he can start banging them in on a consistent basis, it might make him smile a bit more considering how much effort he clearly puts into every game. Made a number of tackles as well as a number of successful dribbles to cause chaos on Watford’s left side.. MID. Arsenal FC. ALEXIS SANCHEZ

7.5. Very positive performance from Welbeck going forward. If he says he’s not 100% fit at the moment I can’t wait to see what Arsenal could look like with him and another speedy striker after a season of healthy and in-form players (if that ever happens). Put only one shot on target, but he caused a constant threat to the back line players and without him Arsenal would have struggled to put passes between the lines. Does a lot of very important off-ball running, as well as harassing defenders when they are in possession.. ST. Arsenal FC. DANNY WELBECK

OLIVIER GIROUD. 6.3. Didn’t make a whole lot happen once he came on, underwhelming performance. As usual, little impact on the game going forward.. ST. Arsenal FC

7.1. Looked positive when he came on, got a goal for his efforts late in the second half after the game had been over for 15 minutes. Looked positive off the ball, but again, can he ever do it in the big games? We need to see more from him when it matters, not a tap-in after the curtains have already been drawn on the match,. MID. Arsenal FC. THEO WALCOTT

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JOEL CAMPBELL. 6.8. Came on late in the second half. Was able to successfully dribble against the tired Watford defenders once he came on, also made some solid attacking runs off the ball. Looks like a talented attacker – I’m not sure who “the best” Joel Campbell is, but if he can do what he’s been doing even more consistently, he’s a great attacking player and a great piece to a squad. Not a star yet, though.. MID. Arsenal FC