These are Fresh Football’s ratings for Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at home to Watford in the Premier League.
Arsenal
Petr Čech - 6
There was little the veteran could have done to have prevented Watford sinking two goals past him, whereas he stood up to be counted on a couple more occasions that the visitors threatened Arsenal’s goal.
Gabriel Paulista - 5.5
The Brazilian will take his slice of the blame for Watford’s second goal after a miscalculated throw-in to Aaron Ramsey, but the Brazilian did improve in the second period.
Shkodran Mustafi - 5.5
The German’s infamous invincibility record in an Arsenal shirt finally came to an end, with him cutting a sorry figure in the lead-up to Troy Deeney’s goal.
Laurent Koscielny - 6
Somewhat powerless in both Watford strikes, whereas he was often the man Arsenal were reduced to looking for when building from the back effectively.
Nacho Monreal - 6.5
Put on a decent tussle with Watford’s Daryl Janmaat on the flank, proving to be far from culpable in a night of disappointment for the Gunners.
Francis Coquelin - 4.5
Not a game the Frenchman will want to look back on in a hurry. He was dominated by Watford’s presence in the centre, meanwhile struggling in possession, so much so that Arsenal took the gamble midway through the second period to make do without him.
Aaron Ramsey - 4
Summing up Arsenal’s start to the game, Ramsey deflected Younes Kaboul’s free-kick into his own net prior to giving up possession in the lead-up to Deeney’s goal. Visibly incompatible next to Coquelin, Ramsey’s night was concluded with an injury. Royal Ascot 2017 is on its way, hopefully you’ll have more luck their than Arsenal do with injuries.
Alex Iwobi - 7
Starting on the right, before being switched out onto the left and ending up in a central pairing, it was Iwobi’s goal that offered Arsenal hope in the second half. The Nigerian gradually lost his handle on the game, however, in a makeshift coupling with Chamberlain.
Mesut Özil - 6
Involved in some eye-opening Arsenal moves, the German just didn’t see enough of the ball in habitual areas throughout particular periods of the game, largely down to the Gunners’ inability to play out from the back effectively.
Alexis Sanchez - 6.5
The Chilean forced Arsenal’s issue hard, of which Iwobi benefitted from when pulling the game back to 2-1, but it was a largely unsuccessful display by the forward.
Olivier Giroud - 5.5
If Özil didn’t see enough of the ball, you can imagine the count on Giroud’s imprint on the game. The Frenchman didn’t return for the second half, as the Gunners turned to Theo Walcott.
Subs:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6.5
The Englishman, after a big performance against Southampton on Saturday, demonstrated Arséne Wenger may have been wrong to overlook him in a central role prior to replacing the injured Ramsey. Despite helping regain some form of control, ‘The Ox’ picked up a knock during the second half and saw his impact shrink.
Theo Walcott - 5.5
On for Giroud as the game resumed, Walcott stretched Watford’s defence and threatened to turn the tables in Arsenal’s favour, but spurned a few good opportunities to do so.
Lucas Perez - 6
The substitution itself, replacing Coquelin, may not have been timed to perfection, as Chamberlain’s knock shortly after saw Arsenal lose their grip on a chase to equalise, but the Spaniard came agonisingly close to doing so with a shot thundering off the bar.
Watford
Heurelho Gomes - 7
The Brazilian shot-stopper made a handful of good saves against the likes of Iwobi and Walcott, crucial on a night like tonight.
Craig Cathcart - 5.5
The defender had a fairly serene first period, but with Iwobi on his case in the second half, he almost crumbled.
Younes Kaboul - 6.5
With an important, yet fortuitous goal to his name, Kaboul completed his night with a reasonably solid performance at the other end.
Sebastian Prödl - 6.5
Assisted Kaboul in keeping Giroud under wraps, and meanwhile the defensive pair came close to unravelling in the second half, the Austrian kept composed in moments of intense pressure.
Miguel Britos - 5
Theo Walcott caused the Uruguayan all sorts of issues, whereas the ex-Napoli man caused his own problems on occasions with indecisiveness inside the box.
Daryl Janmaat - 6
Put in a shift on the right flank, backing up both attacking and defensive phases.
Valon Behrami - 6.5
Anchoring the midfield, Behrami aided the early midfield domination through habitual aggressiveness.
Tom Cleverley - 7
Typically good at going box-to-box en route to a solid first half performance.
Etienne Capoue - 7.5
Watford’s key man on the night, proving to be a big player in the middle and the chief creator of the visitors’ eventual killer blow in the game.
Mbaye Niang - 6.5
A decent debut that saw the ex-A.C. Milan forward tire heavily towards the end, but his potential partnership with Deeney looks promising.
Troy Deeney - 7.5
Another key performer in Watford’s night of success at the Emirates Stadium, scoring their second of the night and working tirelessly towards victory.
Subs:
Abdoulaye Doucoure - 6
A smart change by Watford, as the Frenchman re-energised their midfield and took the sting out of Arsenal’s suffocating resurrection.
Isaac Success - 5.5
On to freshen up the flanks and add bite to any potential Watford counter-attack, but that chance never came.