After the most unsurprising of results Arsène Wenger left here fully aware that on Tuesday night his team must produce a major surprise if they are to bolster their chances of progressing in the Champions League. Bayern Munich will not tire like Watford, on their last legs after an hour of impressive but futile hassling and harrying, and the Bundesliga champions will, you sense, be far more clinical if the Arsenal defence’s current tendency to allow the opposition an all-too-frequent clear path to goal continues.
This victory, sending them back to second place and strengthening their case for the title, was in many ways typical Arsenal. A 12-minute spell of scintillating football followed an hour of generally mundane play. Although the scoreline flattered the visitors and was harsh on a Watford team that impressed until it came to converting their numerous chances, Wenger described it as “perfect preparation” for a daunting fixture that they must win to rekindle hope of emerging from the group stage. They toiled for lengthy spells, though, and until Alexis Sánchez opened the scoring – followed by goals from Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey – they could easily have been behind.
“For us it is a perfect run in the Premier League, and on the other hand also perfect preparation for the Bayern game because we had no injuries and we got the three points,” Wenger said. “We are now in a position where we can really focus and give everything on Tuesday night.”
Yet it is increasingly possible to ponder if Wenger is treating the Champions League with the same seriousness as the Premier League. He recently spoke of his need to rotate more but the starting lineup here was the strongest available and he mentioned he may make “one, maybe two” changes against Bayern.
“I will have to see how we prepare for this game now and decide what we really want to do,” Wenger said. “The confidence level is there, the required result is there as well – we know exactly what is needed; a 0-0 is not even a good result. To score goals, we have to attack.”
Although it is not exactly the point of no return, a third defeat would leave them with a mountain to climb and it is inevitable that comparisons will be made between their ability to tear Manchester United to shreds in that breathtaking start at the Emirates a fortnight ago and how they begin Tuesday’s game. “It is ideal,” Wenger said.
“But that is difficult to plan. We did not plan to be 3-0 up after 20 minutes. What we want to do is play up to our level, because that will be needed because we play against a big team.”
An element of redemption is also at play after the defeats by Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos. “We feel a bit that the pain inflicted was a bit by ourselves, maybe subconsciously we thought: ‘Anyway we will win these’. Now to correct that we need a great performance.”
There is no doubt they are capable of producing one but the challenge is stretching those sparkling bursts into 90 minutes. Wenger was pleased with his defence and they have conceded the fewest goals in the division but gaps behind them were exploited too frequently in the first half and appear too welcoming for counterattacking teams.
“Watford were very well organised, strong in the challenges and very direct,” Wenger said. “We dealt well with the situation, because we did not concede a goal. It took us time to adjust physically, they blocked us well in the first half but slowly in the second half we took over and always looked dangerous. I like the fact that when we went 1-0 up and 2-0 up we continued to attack and that is pleasing to see.”
It is equally worrying for Quique Sánchez Flores’s team that having found themselves with a clear sight of goal on several occasions, they barely forced Petr Cech to break sweat. Only one has been scored in five home games and for all that Troy Deeney impressed by getting in the faces of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, there is an obvious deficit of goals from midfield. Odion Ighalo has scored five of their six but sliced horrifically wide when through on goal in the first half. Thomas Müller and company are unlikely to be as profligate.
Man of the match Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal)