Arsenal Live It Late To Beat Watford 2-0
By Joshua Walters
Graig Cathcart scored an own goal in the 81st minute and Mesut Ozil struck in the 83rd minute as Arsenal secured a late 2-0 win over Watford at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The teams looked destined to settle for a single point until Cathcart connected Alex Iwobi’s cross into his own net before Mesut Ozil settled the nerves in the stands with a simple tap-in of Alexandre Lacazette’s in-swinger after just two minutes.
The win takes Unai Emery’s Gunners to 5th place on the Premier League table with 15 points, a place above the Hertfordshire-based club who have 13 points from seven Premier League games.
Joe Holebas had a goalbound shot cleared in the 6th minute, Will Hughes smashed a shot off target a minute later, before Alexandre Lacazette was handed Arsenal’s first chance in the 15th minute with a cannonball of a shot from the edge of the box, but zipped narrowly wide of the last post.
Lacazette missed the target with an overhit strike in the 22nd minute, Abdoulaye Dacoure won a corner kick for Watford after having his goalbound shot blocked in the 24th minute, and Troy Deeney picked the first yellow card of the afternoon in the 28th minute for a bad foul on Aaron Ramsey.
Unai Emery was forced into making a substitution three minutes into injury time when Petr Cech was replaced by Bernd Leno after picking a knock.
Troy Deeney almost got the visitors in front after the restart when he latched on to a lofted pass from a set-piece, but his effort towards the bottom right corner was saved by the excellent Bernd Leno.
Isaac Success blew a big chance for visitors by crashing a shot against the left post.
Etienne Capoue received the yellow card in the 79th minute for a bad foul, and Arsenal had luck smiling on them two minutes later when a slightly disorientated Graig Cathcart put the ball into his own net to break the virginity of the game.
Doucoure shot off target from close range in the 83rd minute, but that was the only positive scene for the visitors before they were hit with condemnation as Mesut Ozil doubled the lead seconds afterward.
The German midfielder pounced on a loosed ball inside the penalty area and beat the goalkeeper with a flick into the bottom right corner.
