Arsenal can’t take wounded Watford lightly like Everton did

Arsenal are on a roll, and no one can deny that. Having not lost since the end of September against Manchester City, which amounts to nine undefeated matches in a row, the team feels good, is playing even better and wants to keep that going as they head into the third international break of the young season. Watford will be no easy match though, no matter what their current record may be.

Up until recently, that may not have been true, but with the recent sacking of their old manager, Xisco, and the hiring of their new boss, Claudio Ranieri, the youth of Watford, headlined by Ismaïla Sarr, mixed with veterans like Joshua King, will not be easy to overcome.

Can Arsenal avoid the trap that Everton fell into just two weeks ago? They will have to come with focus and determination when the Hornets come to the Emirates, but after the last nine matches, it should be understood that this team is very capable of taking another three points on their way to a well-deserved domestic break.

It is no secret to anyone who follows Arsenal, especially if they actually watch the matches, that the club has been starting matches like a house on fire recently, jumping on the opposition so quickly that the other team almost appears to become disoriented by the ambition and passion of the Gunners.

Arsenal vs Watford: Arteta’s side must keep the pace and energy shown in recent Premier League wins over Aston Villa and Leicester

It is due to the attacking comfort that is being developed between new players, young players, and older, veteran players, as well as a much-improved defense that is giving the team confidence to play a more aggressive, fluid style of attacking football. This is positive, yet Watford demonstrated when they went to Goodison Park that they would not be afraid to come back and show their own determination.

They remain the first and only team in the history of the Premier League to be trailing at the 75th minute only to win by three or more goals by the end of full-time. For Everton, it was embarrassing, but the Gunners, doused in confidence, can’t fall into the same trap that Rafa Benitez’s men fell into.

It will start with Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, who really have felt like the engines in these recent performances operating in their favoured wide berths. Martin Odegaard, who was a prized signing this summer, has struggled to start matches over the last few games, yet he will make a great impact too should he find the pitch.

I like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up top with Alexandre Lacazette, as the two are great friends and also have learned to play quite well together over the years. With rumors that Laca will leave this summer and that the Gunners could raid Serie A for his replacement this January, it would not surprise me to see Laca up with Auba against Watford, in preparation for playing more of that across the second half of the season, one way or another.

Thomas Partey alongside either Albert Sambi Lokonga seems to be the ticket with Granit Xhaka still out, but when he returns healthy, that part of the pitch will have grown deeper and stronger during that time.

They will be sitting in front of, suddenly, one of the best parts of this team. The backline of Arsenal, once a serious problem that had the likes of David Luiz and Shkodran Mustadi blundering about, the Arsenal now are loaded with Nuno Tavares, in for the injured Kieran Tierney, Gabriel Magalhaes, Benjamin White, and Takehiro Tomiyasu. Next year, they will undoubtedly add William Saliba back into that mix, assuming he isn’t sold or loaned again, that is.

This front line has done a brilliant job across these nine matches, helping new club number one Aaron Ramsdale to notch six clean sheets. It’s been impressive, but Watford can put up goals quickly when they are allowed to with frightening pace on the break though Sarr, King and Dennis, so the Gunners will have to play aggressively, while making sure that they do not ease up in the second half of matches as they have done of late.

Should they be able to play as they have, I do not believe that this game will be much of an issue at all. But that is the key, isn’t it? Mikel Arteta must have this team primed, as the best teams in Europe are, to beat down the ‘lesser’ teams with the same intensity that they have when they come up against the stronger teams in the Premier League.

Anything less than that will signify that the team is not yet where it needs to be regarding development of play or of that killer instinct that teams like Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool all possess. Consistency is king.

But Arsenal is getting there, and a win on Sunday would go a long way in proving as much. They will still need to defeat the great teams, of which they will have their chance with  daunting trip to Anfield, but the best teams do it all; they canter against the strugglers and tussle against their European rivals too.