Watford FC 2-2 Arsenal
This was a thriller. A contest in which perspiration combined with inspiration to remind more illustrious opponents that football matches are not won on talent alone.
At half-time and two goals behind, few would have given the bottom club a chance.
Even the SBOBET Premier League betting odds were stacked against the Hornets.
Yet what followed was stirring and a welcome home to remember for a familiar and respected face as Watford claimed a draw which was the least they deserved.
They gave everything in the second half and ran themselves into the ground to the delight of the majority inside Vicarage Road.
None of the previous 12 Premier League matches between these sides had ever ended in a draw yet there was nothing unlucky 13 about this one – it was compelling.
Highlights of the game
Watford had lost five of their six Premier League home games against Arsenal and had not scored a goal against the Gunners in their last three matches.
So they looked doomed after a quick fire Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang double.
First, he was lethal, receiving the ball from Sead Kolasinac just inside the area before spinning and shooting in one movement. One-nil to the Arsenal.
Then Ainsley Maitland-Niles burst into the area and squared for the Gabon international who touched home with ease.
Watford had probably edged the contest until that point yet suddenly found themselves two goals behind.
Certainly, Bernd Leno had to be alert to tip over a stinging drive from Tom Cleverley before Jose Holebas slashed over from close range.
A skirmish on the stroke of half-time just added to the frustrations of the hosts but the touchpaper had now been truly lit for a fixture which already had a history, much of it feisty.
Home skipper Troy Deeney may have been at the centre of much of it but, even in his absence this time through injury, the scene was set for second half Premier League highlights in Hertfordshire.
It was a Greek gaffe which got Watford back into the game nine minutes after the restart.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos’ pass into midfield was intercepted by a sliding Gerard Deulofeu and the ball spun into the path of Cleverley who fired home from 15 yards. Game on.
Watford believed, Arsenal’s vulnerabilities were being exposed.
Deulofeu cut inside and fired narrowly wide, he then tested Leno, Roberto Pereyra’s backheel went close and, as the momentum continued to build, he embarked on an angled run and was chopped down by David Luiz just inside the area.
Argentina v Brazil and the Argentine substitute simply dusted himself up and sent Leno the wrong way from the spot.
No-one could have begrudged the home side a winner.
Deulofeu went close, Cleverley’s shot was goalbound until it hit the head of Luiz and, in stoppage time, a charging run from Abdoulaye Doucoure saw the ball played to Ismaila Sarr who hit it straight at Leno.
Watford stay bottom but the rapturous applause Quique Sanchez Flores and his players received at full-time suggests they won’t be there for long.
Not with perspiration and inspiration – the former, a quality that Arsenal lack too often when the going gets tough.
Key statistics
Arsenal faced 31 shots, the most they have ever faced in a Premier League fixture since Opta began collecting such data in 2003-04.
Arsenal have kept just nine clean sheets in 43 Premier League matches under Unai Emery – two of those were against Watford last season.
They have kept only one clean sheet in their last 10 Premier League fixtures.
Arsenal have conceded 10 top-flight penalties since the start of last season, a total only equalled by Brighton (10).
Aubameyang has scored 14 goals in his last 14 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions and eight of Arsenal’s last 11 Premier League goals in open play.
He has also netted 25 goals in 29 Premier League games on Sundays, compared to four in 15 appearances on Saturdays.
Luiz has given away two penalties in four Premier League appearances for Arsenal – before this run, he hadn’t given away a penalty in this competition since October 2011 for Chelsea.
The Hornets are without a win in nine Premier League matches (drawn three, lost six), their worst run since an 11-game run between November 2006 and January 2007.
This was Cleverley’s 200th Premier League appearance.
What’s next?
Watford travel to champions Manchester City in the Premier League next weekend.
Arsenal, runners-up last season, begin their Europa League campaign at Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany in midweek.
They then host Aston Villa in the league next Sunday (September 22).
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