Arsenal beat Watford to earn their first victory of the season. Both sides had one defeat and a draw from the opening two league matches but Arsenal’s impressive first-half performance earned them three points. A Santi Cazorla penalty, Alexis Sanchez’s fumbled effort and Mesut Ozil’s header gave the Gunners a 3-0 lead at half-time. Substitute Roberto Pereyra scored for the Hornets on his debut but it proved to be a consolation for the hosts. Walter Mazzarri’s side put in a much-improved performance after the break but the Italian was made to wait for his first win as Watford manager. Much like in previous seasons, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been under pressure from some Gunners fans to spend money in the transfer market.
It was revealed on Friday that Germany defender Shkodran Mustafi and Spanish striker Lucas Perez were undergoing medicals at the Emirates, and Wenger confirmed after Saturday’s win that the deals were done, which takes the club’s spending to almost £100m since last season. But they did not look like a team in need of extra artillery after a polished first-half display against Watford. The Gunners broke the deadlock when Sanchez was knocked on the head in the area by Nordin Amrabat, and Cazorla slotted the resulting penalty down the middle. Sanchez, who looked lively throughout, made it 2-0 when he scrambled home from an accurate Theo Walcott ball into the box. And Germany forward Mesut Ozil, making his first start for Arsenal after being rested post-Euro 2016, looked to have put the result beyond doubt on the stroke of half-time when he headed in from Sanchez’s pass.
Alexis Sanchez has scored in all three of his Premier League appearances versus Watford, while also assisting two goals in these matches. This was the first league game at Vicarage Road that Watford have conceded three goals in the first half since December 2007 v QPR. Watford have lost all seven of their games against Arsenal in the Premier League. The Hornets have now used 21 different players in the Premier League this season, with 17 different nationalities represented. Arsenal had seven shots on target in this game, six of which were in the first half. Conversely, Watford attempted all six of their shots on target in the second half.