Arsenal's New Attacking Unit Shines Against Watford but It May Still Be Too Late

Arsenal blew Watford away 4-0 on Saturday with a performance that provoked as much frustration as delight. Why couldn’t the Gunners produce a performance like this in January or February? Their return to form may have come too late to save their title challenge.

Perhaps the quality of this display is linked to Arsenal’s diminishing hopes of winning the league. The pressure has been reduced, and Arsene Wenger’s men are generally at their best when the stakes are lower. This strolling victory in the sun had a distinct end-of-season feel to it.

However, the improvement in Arsenal is about personnel as well as reduced pressure. The Gunners seem to have assembled an XI with captivating attacking chemistry.

The alchemy of an attacking unit is difficult to get right. However, Wenger appears to have found a formula that works at Arsenal. The front four of Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi, Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck swatted away the Hornets with impressive ease.

That quartet started the matches at the Camp Nou and Goodison Park just prior to the international break, and they did enough in those two games to convince Wenger to name them again for the Watford match.

They were excellent. Ozil’s imagination is the ideal complement to the pace of his three team-mates. Alexis seems to have been granted a new lease of life by switching to the right flank. He tucked home the first goal before creating the second after a brilliant burst down the wing. 

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As for Iwobi, his dramatic rise continues apace. After making his competitive debut for Nigeria during the international break, he marked his first league start at the Emirates with a goal and an assist.

It was his floated cross that enabled Alexis to give the Gunners the lead, and when the Chilean returned the favour with a drilled low cross Iwobi tucked home with confidence. He also seems to developing a good understanding with Welbeck, who ran tirelessly in aid of his team. When Iwobi departed the pitch to be replaced by Theo Walcott, he was rewarded with a standing ovation.

With Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny providing an effective screen behind the four forwards, Arsenal looked something like their best once again.

The success of the current system raises questions about how the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will fit into the side upon their return from various injury issues. 

The problem is that as gifted as that trio are, none of them can really be relied upon to function effectively into one role in this team. For all their ability, it’s difficult to pin down their best position.

Take the case of Ramsey: He would presumably argue he is best deployed as a central midfielder. However, he lacks the discipline and tactical intelligence to function effectively in that role. Arsenal look a far better side with the less celebrated talents of Coquelin and Elneny in that role instead. 

While that’s a concern for those individual players, it’s not something Arsenal fans will lose too much sleep over. They’ve found something that works. They’ll still need the likes of Leicester and Tottenham to drop a considerable amount of points, but at least this XI gives them hope that they’ll be able to accumulate some points of their own. 

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.