Arsenal: Fight was the one thing displayed

Granit Xhaka spoke plainly about Arsenal’s improved fight and desire in Monday night’s 1-0 win over Watford. If there is one positive he and his teammates did show, it was exactly that.

All week, the narrative surrounding Arsenal has been very clear: Can they perform and get a result away from home? Well, Monday night’s 1-0 win over Watford answered half that question.

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The performance was lacking, no doubt about it. Almost 80 minutes against ten men, Watford were still the better team, largely in control of the game, bar the periods where they happily ceded possession, thanks to an extremely energetic and physical central midfield. But the result was exactly what was wanted before kickoff. A win. Three points.

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And speaking after the match, Granit Xhaka illustrated the qualities that he and his teammates did show in the smash-and-grab victory, even if many of the tactical and technical elements of the game were sub-standard:

"“I think we need a different character away. Away, it is not always easy to play, we have to take the duels, we have to win the duels, and you can see if you do that you can win the game. We were not so happy against Everton [in last week’s 1-0 defeat] but you could see today we fought like a team. It is an important three points. I don’t care if we win 1-0 or 6-0, it is the same three points. For me, it is better if you play like this and you win, than when we have played away better games but not taken the three points.”"

This was the same line that Unai Emery had been pulling in the build-up to the match. After the insipid display against Everton on Sunday, the pressure was on Arsenal to prove that they are not completely useless away from the Emirates. And Emery demanded that his players play with a greater desire and industry in an attempt to turn around the troubling away form.

Against Watford, they stepped up to the challenge. Yes, there were some seriously concerning moments, from the chances conceded to the lack of control in the midfield. But if there was one thing where Arsenal excelled, it was in the precise department where they have been so poor for so long: fight, desire, character, resilience and a will to win.

As Xhaka rightly states, these are the qualities that they displayed. And as he also alludes at, these are the qualities that are required to be successful on the road. Sometimes, it is a battle, not a game. That has been the case in both of the past two away matches. In the first, Arsenal had little interest in fighting. In the second, they were bold, hardened and wonderfully industrious.

There were plenty of problems with the performance, problems that must be solved if there is to be long-term success. But in the here and now, Xhaka and his teammates proved they are willing to fight, and that is very important indeed.