WATCH: Improved Arsenal Cruises Past Watford as Petr Cech Makes History
Shkodran Mustafi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored as Arsenal eased to a 3-0 win over Watford in front of a sparcely-packed crowd at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Arsene Wenger made six changes from the side that won in Milan on Thursday, with Aubameyang and Petr Cech among those restored to the starting lineup. Watford made just the one change from their last outing, with Kiko Feminia replacing Andre Carillo.
The Gunners could have led within two minutes as Aubameyang raced clear on goal but Orestis Karnezis did enough to get it behind. The home fans weren't kept waiting long though as Mustafi headed in from Mesut Ozil's free-kick in the 8th minute.
Watford nearly crafted a quick equalizer when Roberto Pereyra lofted a useful ball over the top to Richarlison. The Brazilian delayed too long in shooting but did well to spot the run of Abdoulaye Doucoure, who may feel that he could have done better with a finish that was straight at Cech.
Aubameyang then went within inches of his third Arsenal goal as Mohamed Elneny spotted a dangerous run from Sead Kolasinac, but the Bosnian's cut back was just beyond Aubameyang's sliding attempt.
Pereyra wasted a gilt-edged chance for the visitors, skying over the crossbar after Cech pushed Richarlison's free-kick straight into his path. Moments later, Ozil produced a nice bit of skill to go one-on-one with Karnezis, but the Greek goalkeeper spread himself well to keep the score down.
Sloppiness started to creep into Arsenal's game and Watford ended the half on top. A nice corner routine ended with Rob Holding deflecting a shot onto the roof of the net with Cech scrambling. Richarlison then headed a Feminia cross towards the bottom corner but Cech was alert to push it behind.
Watford continued to press forwards after half-time, but lacked a cutting edge. Arsenal showed them how it was done, Mkhitaryan splitting the Hornets defence with an incisive pass to Aubameyang, who rounded Karnezis to double the lead.
The visitors were handed a possible route back into the game from their very next attack, when Ainsley Maitland-Niles dangled a leg in the box which Fereyra tumbled over. Troy Deeney's penalty was powerful but central and Cech pushed it away to preserve the 2-0 lead.
Arsenal put the result beyond any doubt with 14 minutes left as Ozil found space out wide and whipped in a low cross which Karnezis pushed away. Aubameyang picked the ball up and unselfishly squared it for Mkhitaryan, who sidefooted in his second goal of the week.
There were no more goals before the end, meaning that Petr Cech became the first goalkeeper to achieve 200 clean sheets in the Premier League.
Despite the convincing win, Arsenal remain ten points adrift of the Champions League places.
