The Arsenal we all know and love showed up for the first half against Watford, and it ended up being more than enough to get all three points for the Gunners. We held off a spirited second-half fightback from Watford to claim our first victory of the new Premier League season.
Three first-half goals from Santi Cazorla, from the penalty spot, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil – making his first start of the campaign were enough for us to get back to winning ways.
The only significant criticism would be the failure to sustain our superiority for the full 90 minutes, allowing a home side that had been humbled before half-time to find a measure of encouragement in the latter stages but though the Hornets wrestled their way back into the contest they never looked likely to avoid losing it.
There was more positive news afterwards with manager Wenger confirming deals for £50m-plus duo Shkodran Mustafi (from Valencia) and Lucas Perez (from Deportivo La Coruna) were imminent after they passed their medicals.
Wenger was a happy man after his side claimed their first Premier League victory of the season at Watford on Saturday. This is what he said to the press afterwards:
I think overall the performance was a strong one. Very fluent and a massive first half. We were 3-0 up at half-time and in the second half we still created many chances but we missed something in the final ball, like we did at Leicester. We are not capable in the end to maintain completely for 90 minutes exactly the same intensity physically, but overall it’s a very encouraging performance and a good win.
When asked about Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez, Wenger said:
I think they should go through, both of them. They had medicals. We have to finish the paperwork and I don’t know exactly when we will announce it but look, I think it could be announced at the beginning of the week.
They will integrate into the team now and we will help them join squad,
We had to work very hard to get signings done. We have not got any plans for anyone else now.
Wenger knows that feeling of pressure better than most and the requirement for a victory here after one point from their opening two matches should not be underestimated.
Next up is an international break, then Southampton immediately after. Exhale, we have our first win.
