Arsenal: 4 talking points from 3-2 win over Watford

Arsenal climbed into the top four with a well-earned 3-2 Premier League win over Watford, one that ended nervier than it should have.

Mikel Arteta fielded the same lineup that fought to the death in a superb win over Wolves last time out, with Emile Smith Rowe unavailable after testing positive for COVID and Takehiro Tomiyasu again missing with a calf injury.

Watford had the ball in the back of the net inside 30 seconds, but Emmanuel Dennis was adjudged to be offside, although Arsenal took the lead just minutes later after. A clever interchange from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka ended with the Norwegian elegantly sliding the ball past Ben Foster in the Watford goal with just five minutes gone.

Watford equalized after a superb move ended with Cucho Hernandez producing a fabulous acrobatic effort past Aaron Ramsdale. Arsenal regained the lead just after the half-hour mark with Saka winning the ball back in the Watford half before feeding Alexandre Lacazette who produced a neat flick for the returning Saka to lash a shot home.

Watford 2-3 Arsenal: 4 talking points as Odegaard, Saka and Martinelli fire Gunners into Premier League top four on Sunday

A slick Arsenal side headed to the sheds 2-1 to the good.

Arsenal continued its dominance after the break and it only took seven minutes to double their lead. After a quickly taken thrown in from Saka found Cedric, neat one-touch passes from Odegaard and Lacazette ended with the ball falling to Martinelli on the edge of the box who then thundered home into the top corner.

Moussa Sissoko did give Watford life with just minutes remaining with a well-taken finish from close range. However, Arsenal held on and moved into the top four.

The game provided plenty of talking points, here they are.

1. It Was a Thomas Party

The Ghanaian international was superb in the middle of the park – again.

Constantly pushing his team forward and providing plenty of drive out of midfield, his silky and classy touches to go past defenders or to create a little bit of space were at their finest. This is someone oozing confidence at the minute, with each feint of the body more elegant than the next.

Throughout the game his presence was felt as he constantly kept Arsenal ticking over. He won more duels (8), completed more take-ons (3) & won more aerial duels (3) than any other Arsenal player against Watford, while also completing the most passes on the pitch (69), and reclaiming possession or keeping hold of it in the face of danger. Being the lone pivot adds more pressure on him to protect the ball, and yet he appears to be relishing in the responsibility.

His performance today was well worth his price tag as it was this kind of midfield supremacy that he was bought for. An assured display in which he was the single roadblock for Watford going forward. This version of Partey is the best seen since he arrived at the club. Easily.

Today, Thomas had a party.

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