Arsenal return to top 4 thanks to Watford goalkeeper's mistake

Goal: Aubameyang 10'.

Red card: Deeney 11'.

Arsenal have been in poor away form since the second half of December 2018. Since the 2-2 draw with Man Utd on December 5, Unai Emery's team have lost seven and drawn two of their 11 away games from the Emirates in all competitions. The Gunners' inconsistency was evident in their 0-1 loss to Everton a week ago. After a run of three consecutive home wins, the red-and-white team did not take a single point away from Goodison Park, despite being in a dominant position. In the context of having to split their efforts in the Europa League, not many people thought of three full points for Arsenal, especially when Emery rotated his squad against Watford.

The action on the pitch proved that. Watford started confidently and maintained their attacking style of play, despite being one man down in the 11th minute, when captain Troy Deeney was sent off. They even nearly equalised early in the second half, when Adam Masina hit the crossbar. However, luck was on the visitors' side on the evening of April 15. Arsenal took the lead after goalkeeper Ben Foster's clearance hit Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and held the advantage until the end.

Watford are the most consistent team in the Premier League, excluding the top 6. Except for the 0-0 draw with Brighton in early February 2019, Javi Gracia's team have won all the rest of the Premier League. Goalkeeper Foster's error in handling the ball partly explains this form. In a similar situation at the beginning of the match, Arsenal's Bernd Leno was also put in a difficult position when his teammate returned the ball and the opposing striker approached, but he safely cleared the ball out of bounds. On the contrary, Foster tried to save the ball to clear it, but passed it to Aubameyang, before the ball slowly rolled into the net.

The curse of the top 6 became clear for Watford after exactly one minute of conceding. Troy Deeney raised his elbow towards Lucas Torreira. The linesman spotted the foul and informed referee Kevin Friend. As a result, Watford were down a goal and a man with 80 minutes left.

In a difficult situation, the home team was forced to risk raising their attacking formation. In the 17th minute, they almost got hit by a counterattack when Aubemyang finished close to the near post, after a cross from the left wing.Nearly 10 minutes later, Alex Iwobi led the ball for nearly 30 meters and fired two consecutive shots, but this time, Foster successfully cleared the danger. In the 57th minute, Henrik Mkhitaryan comfortably cushioned the ball in the 5m50 area, after Iwobi's assist, but the ball found Foster's feet.

Watford decided to go all-in, and were almost rewarded in the 61st minute. Masina's stunning back-foot shot beat goalkeeper Leno, but hit the crossbar. 10 minutes from time,Andre Gray got past the Arsenal goalkeeper, but couldn't finish from a tight angle.

Arsenal should have won by a bigger margin, having controlled 66% of the ball and had 19 shots, twice as many as their opponents (11). At the end of the match, Aubameyang once again missed the chance to equal the goalscoring record of Sergio Aguero and Mohamed Salah when he squandered a one-on-one. However, the Gabonese striker's only goal was enough to help the Gunners secure their first away win in more than two months. Three points at homeVicarage Road lifted Emery's men to fourth place,one point behind the team above Tottenham, equal on points with the team below Chelsea but with a match in hand.

Line-up

Watford:Foster; Femenia (Success 59'), Janmaat, Kabasele, Cathcart, Masina (Sema 86'); Hughes, Doucoure, Capoue; Gray, Deeney.

Arsenal:Leno; Mustafi, Mavropanos (Guendouzi 59'), Koscielny, Monreal; Torreira (Ozil 45'), Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ramsey (Maitland-Niles 68'), Iwobi; Aubameyang.