Arsenal analysis: Arsene Wenger left to rue Mesut Ozil miss as Gunners fail to capitalise in Premier League title race

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James Olley15 October 2017

Tom Cleverley hit a last-gasp winner as Watford came from behind to beat Arsenal and check the Gunners recent run of form.

The former Manchester United man lashed home in stoppage time after the visitors were unable to clear their lines to give the Hornets a first Premier League home win of the campaign.

Per Mertesacker had headed Arsenal ahead with his first league goal in 1400 days, only for a contentious Troy Deeney penalty to draw Watford level before Cleverley's late heroics sealed a memorable 2-1 victory.

Arsene Wenger's side - who started without either Mesut Ozil or Alexis Sanchez - had won their last four games in all competitions following a slow start but they were poor for much of the contest.

James Olley assesses the key talking points at Vicarage Road...

Arsenal fail to capitalise

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After Liverpool and Manchester United played out a goalless draw and Chelsea lost at Crystal Palace earlier in the day, Arsenal had an excellent opportunity to steal a march on their top four rivals.

However, Arsenal allowed a first-half lead through Per Mertesacker’s first Premier League goal for 1,400 days to slip with an unconvincing performance in which they wilted badly towards the end.

Troy Deeney’s 72nd-minute penalty earned Watford parity before a stoppage time winner from Tom Cleverley handed Marco Silva a first home win in charge of the Hornets.

It may be Arsenal’s first defeat since August but they are now nine points behind early pacesetters Manchester City. These are early days in the title race but that gap should already be of considerable concern to Wenger.

Wenger faces renewed criticism

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The Gunners boss planned to introduce Jack Wilshere for Alex Iwobi but then suddenly changed his mind and opted for Rob Holding to replace Laurent Koscielny.

It was Arsenal’s final change and Wenger may have been alerted to an injury given Koscielny has a longstanding Achilles problem but that did not prevent travelling supporters chanting “you don’t know what you’re doing” at their manager.

The Gunners have been in good form of late but this was a reminder Wenger is never far away from finding himself on the receiving end of fans frustration. That anger will only have been exacerbated by Cleverley’s late intervention.

Zonal marking gives Watford a mountain to climb

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Zonal marking has its pros and cons but Watford ended up with a ludicrous situation in the first half as one of their shortest players, Cleverley, was left to try and stop Arsenal’s tallest, Mertesacker, meeting Granit Xhaka’s 39th-minute corner.

Xhaka’s delivery was superb, arrowing into the six yard box with precision, but as Adrian Mariappa among others failed to attack the ball, Mertesacker wriggled clear of Cleverley to power a simple header past Heurelho Gomes.

It is the fourth goal Watford have conceded four League goals from set pieces this season - no team has conceded more - and although they rallied thereafter, it may be an area Marco Silva looks to address in the weeks ahead.

Arsenal rue Ozil’s profligacy

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Just 32 seconds elapsed between Mesut Ozil missing a glorious chance to kill this game off and Hector Bellerin conceding the penalty from which Watford drew level.

Ozil had only been in the game for just over 10 minutes after coming on in place of Welbeck but he had a clear sight of goal in a central position on the edge of the box with time to beat Gomes.

He failed to do so and Watford broke, with Richarlison taking on Bellerin for pace down the left.

The penalty award was a close call but referee Neil Swarbrick deemed there was sufficient contact and Troy Deeney, also on as a substitute, converted from 12 yards. Matches often turn on such moments.

Welbeck injury concern

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Danny Welbeck has started every League game for which he has been available this season so in a sense it was no surprise he made the line-up at Vicarage Road after returning to fitness following a groin injury.

Aside from the odd moment of link-up play with Alexandre Lacazette, the 26-year-old failed to make much of an impact but nevertheless it will concern Wenger that Welbeck was forced off after 61 minutes with what appeared to be a hamstring problem.

The forward burst into the box and went down under a challenge from Jose Holebas. Swarbrick was unmoved but the incident too its toll on Welbeck and he could now face another spell on the sidelines.