MATCH PREVIEW ( WATFORD - ARSENAL )

The Watford hierarchy made the baffling decision to part ways with manager Quique Sanchez Flores last season after he led them comfortably to safety after a fantastic start to the campaign. Avoiding relegation after promotion was their aim at the start of the season, but because of their drop in form after an excellent first half to the campaign the management seemed to think they would be better off without Floresdespite their overall 13th place finish.It’s not started off too brightly for them under Walter Mazzarri though. They have managed to keep hold of star performers Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo, but they have only managed one point from their opening two games so far.To be fair, those games have been tough ones. They started off away to Southampton and came away with a fortuitous point. Etienne Capoue opened the scoring inside ten minutes before Nathan Redmond got a debut goal for the Saints just before the hour mark. A Southampton onslaught ensued, and despite Watford playing the final 15 minutes withten men after Ben Watson’s sending off they managed to hang on.
Next up was a home game against Chelsea, and once again they took the lead through Capoue when he grabbed the opener ten minutes into the second half. But the strikeforce of Michy Batshuayi and Diego Costa kept pushing until the end and grabbed the equaliser and then the winner respectively in the final ten minutes.Arsenal’s season has started off worse as a whole though. It’s inevitablethat the Gunners suffer an injury crisis at some point during the season, but this term it began before a ball had been kicked. Gabriel Paulista, Carl Jenkinson, and Per Mertesacker all got injured through the summer, and with Laurent Koscielny still on rest after Euro 2016 it meant they hada very makeshift back line for their opener against Liverpool.It didn’t go well for them either as they went 4-1 down to the visiting Liverpool. They did manage to bring it back to 4-3 but couldn’t push on for the equaliser without a single out and out striker. Olivier Giroud was on rest and Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi have both been injured.Laurent Koscielny returned to the back line against Premier League champions Leicester last weekend, but they were still without a true number nine until Giroud came on in the closing stages. Their added reassurance at the back was evident as they kept a clean sheet against Leicester, but their lack of striker was also evident as they failed to score.
Watford haven’t been overly poor in their opening two games, and they might have won against Chelsea were it not for the added determination that Antonio Conte has brought with him. Arsenal will invite Giroud back up front, but they still lack the clinical edge in front of goal that Chelsea had last week. This gives Watford a great chance in my opinion, and I fancy them to be able to take a point from this match.

Head - to - Head
Arsenal have won five and lost one of their last six matches against Watford.

Team News

Arsenal
Arsenal remain injury stricken, with Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi not expected back until September, Gabriel Paulista following in Octoberand Carl Jenkinson expected back at the start ofNovember. Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeckwill miss the rest of 2016 at least with knee injuries. Their only significant signing is Granit Xhaka.

Watford
New signings Isaac Success and Brice Dja Djedje are both struggling with injuries, but Success could be in line to play on Saturday.