Arsenal: The Watford meltdown and its optics

With expectation high following the international break, allowing Watford to claw back a two-goal deficit is disastrous from an Arsenal renowned with capitulation. The optics from this one are bleak

Arsenal came out of the international break in good spirits and with good ambition going into Vicarage Road against Watford. After one half and two Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goals, one could see the mettle that I discussed after the North London Derby comeback.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Unai Emery out?

By the end of the second half, however, silence and frustration had replaced hope and confidence. One point is better than nothing, but allowing two second-half goals is heartbreaking. Three points very quickly turned to sand, and that is very troubling indeed.

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In the first half, Arsenal showed good attacking artistry and endeavour. Both Sead Kolasinac and Aubameyang did excellently for the opening goal. for the opening score of the match. Then came another fine example of that same attacking volition: From Mesut Özil to Ainsley Maitland-Niles to Aubameyang, the flowing move was another vivid display of the team’s true capabilities. But such attacking potential and potency was never to be seen again.

Up 2-0 with over half of the match to play, better teams would have attacked more ferociously once the game was essentially decided, much in the way Manchester City or Liverpool do in their current forms, putting the match to bed quickly and efficiently. But the Gunners did the opposite. They grew conservative, and when a team ceases to move forward, they end up moving backwards by default. This game was no exception to the rule.

The second half was a disaster, and it took just eight minutes for that to become clear. A pass from Sokratis to Matteo Guendouzi was intercepted thanks to a hard press by Watford and Tom Cleverly slammed the ball home. Watford were back in the game; the Gunners were stunned, dazed and passionless. Then the equaliser. Caught on the counter-attack, a dangling David Luiz catching Roberto Pereyra; another 20 minutes and Arsenal would have lost.

Drawing against Tottenham is one thing, between their talent and the animosity Arsenal and Tottenham share, it is not surprising or psychologically damaging. But losing a 2-0 lead to Watford is an alarming result, with blame to go around aplenty.

Unai Emery got his tactics wrong, falling into a conservative trap that was obvious for all to see, the players were unmotivated and ‘scared’, according to Granit Xhaka, while the malaise that came across the team in the second half is utterly unacceptable for any professional team.

The time to rebound is short. Eintracht Frankfurt host Arsenal on Thursday in the opening Europa League group stage match before Aston Villa come to the Emirates. A quick turnaround means that the taste of dropped points can be forgotten as fast as it occurred.

Next. Arsenal Vs Watford: 5 things we learned. dark

If the Gunners falter this week, however, the snowball effect could be dramatic and traumatic. They will need to shoot much straighter moving ahead or face unmet expectations in the middle week of September; it is too early in the season to be lagging so far behind, and someone will have to pay the price.

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