Watford vs. Arsenal: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

Arsenal beat Watford 3-0 in an entertaining Premier League match on Saturday, as both teams served up exciting, attacking football, but the Gunners proved to be the more clinical of the two sides.

Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey all scored in the second half, and while Watford deserved a goal of their own for the excellent display, particularly in the first half, Arsenal were deserved winners based on the entire match.

The win sees the Gunners move back into second place in the standings behind leaders Manchester City, and it provides the side with a nice boost ahead of the upcoming UEFA Champions League match against Bayern Munich.

Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger didn't field a surprising starting XI, with Laurent Koscielny returning in favour of Gabriel Paulista, Theo Walcott playing as the striker despite Giroud's brace for France against Denmark and Sanchez fresh to start despite his long journey back from Chile.

Watford have enjoyed an excellent start to their Premier League campaign, and early on, the hosts seemed willing and capable to play with Arsenal, resulting in plenty of possession in midfield.

The in-form Hector Bellerin and Nathan Ake went at each other early, but chances were few, with the players still shaking off the rust from the international break.

The first real chance fell to Sanchez, who went on one of his typical runs before cutting inside and testing Heurelho Gomes for the first time.

On the other side of the pitch, Troy Deeney drew a fine save from Petr Cech with a dipping strike.

Bleacher Report's James McNicholas thought he would give the Gunners' defence more trouble than Odion Ighalo, Watford's star man up front:

Deeney and Ighalo both looked excellent in space, and Arsenal's defence had difficulty reacting to Watford's diagonal balls and long passes over the top. Koscielny had to make a last-ditch tackle to stop Ighalo from opening the score on one such occasion, with Per Mertesacker woefully out of position.

Watford were the better team at this point, although their momentum was broken up by an altercation between Ighalo and Koscielny, with the latter clutching his face and claiming the forward hit him. While there certainly was some contact, it was incidental and light, and the match went on without any bookings.

The short break worked in Arsenal's favour, and Ramsey had a chance after some lovely work from Sanchez.

The Chile international did all of the hard work before finding the Welshman, who somehow missed the goal completely from just yards out.

ESPN FC's Craig Burley noticed he seemed to do that a lot:

Mertesacker made up for his earlier mistake with some great pressure on Ighalo, who seemed destined to score when he slipped in behind the Gunners' defence, and Bellerin couldn't find any takers after a great run and a lovely little pass into the box.

Cech had a couple of dodgy moments in the first half, including one instance where the ball slipped his grasp and landed on his shoulder and another where he could―and maybe should―have been penalised for a high boot.

Sky Sports Football certainly thought so:

But overall, the Arsenal defence did well to contain Deeney and Ighalo, two in-form attackers who looked dangerous early on. On the other side of the pitch, the pressure was increasing, with Ramsey blasting a shot over the goal.

The high pace of the match continued in the second half, and while neither team was able to break the deadlock, the action was entertaining nonetheless.

Sanchez and Ramsey were at the heart of every Arsenal attack, but Mesut Ozil was almost invisible, and his lack of involvement seemed to hold the Gunners back.

The Watford fans tried to steal the show in the stands, via Goal's Greg Stobart:

Mertesacker's lack of pace cost him after one hour of play, as he was clearly caught out by Ighalo's turn and forced to bring down the speedy forward, earning himself the first booking of the match.

Paddy Power had some fun at the tall German's expense:

Etienne Capoue was furious not to be given a penalty when he went down in the box under pressure from Francis Coquelin, although replays suggested the official got it right.

Just as it looked Ozil would remain invisible for the entire match, the German showed his class, playing a one-two with Santi Cazorla before getting hacked down inside the box.

Everyone inside the stadium thought it was a penalty for the Gunners, but the official waived the advantage, and Sanchez blasted home via the post.

Minutes later, Giroud was brought on in favour of Walcott, whose speed was largely negated by Watford's low defensive line.

The Frenchman had been on the pitch for what felt like seconds when Ozil picked him out with a nice pass, which Giroud beautifully converted into a second goal.

Cue the memes, courtesy of Bleacher Report UK:

The floodgates were open, and Aaron Ramsey made it 3-0 shortly after, with Bellerin providing the assist after a superb run down the flank. 

Up by two goals, Wenger decided to take off Sanchez and Ozil at the same time, preserving the duo for the upcoming clash with Bayern Munich.

Giroud nearly scored a second on a corner kick, but Gomes produced a fantastic save to keep the ball out, denying the Frenchman. That would be the last big chance of the match, as the Gunners comfortably played out the final minutes.

Arsenal appear to be in excellent form, having won their last three Premier League matches in convincing fashion, and momentum is just what they need heading into a vital Champions League doubleheader with Bayern Munich.

The Bavarians have been close to unstoppable this season, but the Gunners need to win Tuesday's match, or their chances to advance to the knockout stages will look slim at best.

Watford's next match will be at Stoke City, who have won their last two and play Swansea City on Monday.

Post-Match Reaction

As shared by the club's official Twitter account, Wenger knew how important it was to win on Saturday with an eye on what lies ahead:

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