Watford v Arsenal: Premier League – live!

Peep peep! Arsenal lead through two brilliant goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The first was an expert finish; the second was a team effort inspired by Mesut Ozil. The scoreline is harsh on Watford, who started very brightly and have looked dangerous on the break.

45+1 min It’s all kicking off here! Holebas challenged Pepe near the halfway line, and suddenly players from both sides appeared to start a shoving match.

45 min Deulofeu, who has been excellent, charges into the area at pace only to run out of room after beating David Luiz.

44 min “The relationship between Ozil and Emery is a nuanced one, I think,” says Bill Hargreaves. “Mesut: ‘I don’t care if you don’t want me (but watch this!)’; Unai: ‘I can’t afford you, I don’t want you (but look at that!)’.”

It fascinates me, given all type of criticism both men receive, that one of Ozil’s biggest fans was Jose Mourinho.

43 min “The NBC feed announcers are trashing the Watford back line,” says Mary Waltz, “but I think it’s more Arsenal quality then poor performance by Watford.”

They were two excellent goals, I thought.

41 min A win today would take Arsenal to third in the table, behind Manchester City on goal difference.

39 min Femenia wins a corner for Watford, who are still game despite the double blow from Aubameyang. David Luiz heads it away.

35 min A double chance for Watford! Guendouzi accepts a goalkick from Leno on the edge of the area, turns and loses the ball. Deulofeu whaps a low shot that Leno can’t hold, and Gray puts the rebound into the side-netting.

35 min Femenia’s cross is volleyed wide by Hughes, who got in front of David Luiz at the near post.

34 min Watford have played really well, and they’re 2-0 down.

It was made brilliantly by Ozil, who sliced the Watford defence open with a short, stabbed pass down the inside-right channel to find Maitland-Niles. He slid the ball across the face to give Aubameyang an open goal. The pass from Ozil, a sudden thrust of the dagger that took three defenders out of the game, was delicious.

This is a beautiful goal!

30 min A dangerous Arsenal break is led by Ozil, who just underhits an attempted through pass to Pepe. A perfectly weighted pass would have put Pepe through on goal.

27 min Arsenal have played with greater confidence since the goal. Good game, this.

25 min That was almost 2-0. Ceballos found Ozil, whose deflected cross just evaded Aubameyang on the six-yard line.

Goal given! Hughes lost the ball near the halfway line after a tackle from Ceballos, who got a slight touch on the ball. Kolasinic picked up the loose ball and surged into space before sliding a short pass to Aubameyang in the area. He controlled the ball on the run, swivelled in the same movement and lashed a superb low shot past Foster.

Aubameyang has had a touch now – he’s put Arsenal ahead with a brilliant finish. Watford are asking for a VAR check after a challenge on Hughes near the halfway line.

20 min Arsenal’s first effort. Guendouzi wins a 50/50 with Capoue and wafts a long pass to Pepe on the right. He moves infield, 25 yards from goal, and hits a left-footed shot that drifts a few yards wide of the far post.

18 min Arsenal haven’t offered much in attack as yet. Aubameyang has barely touched the ball, while Ozil has just been robbed brusquely by Deulofeu. That sums up the first 18 minutes.

15 min This has been a superb start from Watford, who have looked really sharp on the counter-attack.

13 min: Holebas misses an excellent chance! Deulofeu wriggled past Maitland-Niles in the area and stabbed the ball back to the underlapping Holebas in the space on the edge of the area. He opened his body in an attempt to steer a first-time shot into the top corner, but he mistimed it and the ball went high and wide.

12 min Cleverley’s speculative curler from long range is comfortably held by Leno.

11 min Deulofeu has started very well on the left for Watford. So has Cleverley, who forces a fine save from Leno with a fierce rising drive from 20 yards. Leno leapt to his left and fingertipped it over the bar.

8 min Holebas fouls Maitland-Niles just outside the area on the right. Ozil’s inswinging free-kick is headed away from inside the six-yard box by Dawson.

6 min Deulofeu cuts inside Guendouzi, 20 yards out, and shapes a curler towards the far post. Leno fumbles a fairly routine take but manages to grab it at the second attempt.

6 min Cleverley’s fast, low cross towards Gray is hoofed away at the near post. Watford look bright and breezy.

3 min It’s been a frantic start to the game, and Watford look full of the joys of a new manager.

2 min Arsenal have started with a midfield diamond, as expected. Deulofeu scurries past one of those midfielders, Guendouzi, after a nice bit of skill on the halfway line.

1 min Peep peep! Arsenal kick off from left to right. They are in red; Watford are wearing yellow and black.

It’s a beautiful afternoon at Vicarage Road, and the returning Quique Sanchez Flores receives a huge cheer from the home fans. There’s a cracking atmosphere.

“Is it statistically weird that only five teams in the Premier League have a positive goal difference,” says Matt Dobbing. “Appreciate it’s only five games in.”

A little bit – at the same stage of the last two seasons there were seven teams with a positive goal difference.

The pre-match thoughts of Quique Sanchez Flores

“We need to be solid in defence, because we are playing against a very fast team with talent and skill. We need to be compact and well-organised, and to take our chances at the other end. We need to be brave with and without the ball. I am really happy to be back at Watford. I feel that I am in the right place again.”

Bournemouth are beating Everton 3-1 in the early Premier League game. You can follow the last few minutes with Will Unwin.

Watford (4-2-3-1) Foster; Kiko Femenia, Dawson, Kabasele, Holebas; Doucoure, Capoue; Hughes, Cleverley, Deulofeu; Gray.
Substitutes: Gomes, Foulquier, Janmaat Mariappa, Chalobah, Sarr, Pereyra.

Arsenal (4-D-2) Leno; Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, David Luiz, Kolasinac; Xhaka; Guendouzi, Ceballos; Ozil; Pepe, Aubameyang.
Substitutes: Martinez, Chambers, Saka, Torreira, Willock, Martinelli, Nelson.

Referee Anthony Taylor.

Hello. Arsenal were once the toughest visitors in the land. Twice in three years, from 2001-04, they went through a whole Premier League season without losing away from home – a staggering achievement that is sometimes forgotten because of their Invincible season.

The memory of that rugged, brilliant team made their decline under Arsene Wenger even more acute; by the end, they were often a mess away from home. That’s improved slightly under Unai Emery, but Arsenal’s away form is still their weak point. They are consistently good at the Emirates – only Manchester City have collected more points at home in the last five seasons – so their work on the road will probably decide whether they end a barren run of four whole years without finishing in the top four.

Watford are starting again, again, after sacking Javi Gracia and replacing him with Quique Sanchez Flores. It would be unfair to call Watford a sacking club; by going back to Flores, the man they got rid of in 2016, they’ve taken things to a whole new level.

Kick off is at 4.30pm.