The visitors went into the match having won all six of their previous Premier League meetings with Watford, and it took them less than 10 minutes to make the first step towards maintaining that 100 per cent record.
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Shielding the space in front of his back four, Xhaka has a style of play which is unspectacular, but judging by his display at Vicarage Road, his capture from Borussia Monchengladbach looks like an astute move.
But there were no complaints as Arsenal took the lead in the ninth minute when Santi Cazorla stroked home a penalty after Nordin Amrabat elbowed Alexis Sanchez. “I believe in hard work and that will get us results”.
It was only the Germany international’s 21st goal for the north London football club since joining them from Real Madrid in 2013 – and Wenger admitted that for a player widely regarded as world-class it is an area where he can still improve.
It was revealed on Friday that Germany defender Shkodran Mustafi and Spanish striker Lucas Perez were undergoing medicals at the Emirates, and Wenger confirmed after Saturday’s win that the deals were done, which takes the club’s spending to nearly £100m since last season.
Had Watford grabbed a second goal at that point it is easy to imagine Arsenal crumbling, which should be a concern for Wernger amid the joy of a valuable three points.
The Premier League match between Watford and Arsenal will be broadcast live via live stream only.
When asked if there would be any other new arrivals before the transfer window closes on Wednesday evening, Wenger replied: “I don’t think so”.
Arsene Wenger feels Lucas Perez could bring the skill set that Arsenal missed a mind boggling open entryway for when they neglect to finish a move for Jamie Vardy. Wenger stressed the importance of reducing the influence exerted by Ighalo and Troy Deeney, saying “They were very efficient a year ago with the two strikers up front together, Ighalo and Deeney, one of the keys for us will be to keep them quiet”.
“He has a good engine, good stature, he is good in the air and has a good balance in his game, he has a good short ball and a good long ball”.
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“He has experience of playing overseas and that is always helpful”. Pereyra has scored on his debut and that will give him confidence.
