Arsenal Vs Watford: Yes, Troy Deeney scares me

Arsenal travel to Watford on Monday night needing to win to keep pace in the top-four race. And there is one man who scares me more than anyone else: Troy Deeney.

The season is most certainly hotting up. As the winter turns to spring and the sun begins to rise, so also does the climax of the football season circle into full view. And for Arsenal, as almost with every year, that means the top-four rat race enters its final stages.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Napoli brilliance; top four chances

This season, the pack is as close as ever. Before this weekend, four teams chasing two positions, all separated by just three points will all games-in-hand won. This is going to be a sprint for the finishing line, and the Gunners are right in the thick of the action.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

But while a promising first season under Unai Emery has put them in a strong position, there is still much work to be done, starting with Monday night’s trip to Watford. The first of four remaining away games, the tricky but short venture north poses a unique problem for Arsenal: they must face their fears.

Much has been made of their inconsistent, to say the least, away form, but if Unai Emery’s side are to squeeze into the top four, it will be because of how they handle those four pesky trips between now and the end of the year — Wolves, Leicester City and Burnley are the other three away opponents, none of which are gimmes.

Moreover, there is an added spice to the Watford match that makes me extremely nervous about Arsenal’s prospects.

Not only are Watford a very dangerous team that can pose serious problems, but they play with an extremely physical and aggressive manner that has typically caused their visitors problems in the past, no less than last season when Watford overturned a one-goal deficit to win 2-1. And no man typifies this approach better is Troy Deeney.

Deeney is a truly horrible footballer. Gnarly, powerful, a big bruiser of a centre-forward who can bully defenders into submission. He is the precise type of striker that has undone Arsenal in recent years. And Deeney himself has caused great issues, including in that 2-1 win, after which he accused his battered opponents of lacking ‘cojones’.

Deeney takes a lot of flak for his throwback style. He is often seen in a backwards light, talked about in a derogatory manner for lacking the modern-day obsession with quality and skill. But football is about more than just pure ability. And Deeney typifies that. It is why is such a dangerous opponent.

The centre-forward has proven his thorn-inducing presence time and time again. And I expect Monday night to be nothing different. Emery and his players must find a way to handle him. Because if they don’t, he will wreck both their game and their top-four hopes.