EMIRATES STADIUM — In the end, Watford went down with the same style with which they have always conducted themselves in the Premier League.
On this, their swansong, a thrilling defeat in which they were at times a shambles, at others barrel-chested and heroic, they summed up five satisfying seasons that were sadly always likely to end this way.
Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, said before the game that he couldn’t begin planning for next season until he knew whether the club would be in Europe next season, but it’s trifling compared with the uncertainty that stalks Watford. Who will be their manager next year? Who of the playing staff will stay? Will the Pozzo family’s recruitment network be effective in the Championship? Can anyone handle the heat of the Watford hotseat?
If they can reproduce next season the kind of hiding they gave Arsenal for long periods here, they’ll surely be in the promotion mix. This has been a year of fits and starts for the Hornets, moments of despair mixed with the green shoots of recovery. In the end, it is a failure of leadership that has condemned them to relegation.
It began to go wrong within 30 seconds at the Emirates. Craig Dawson lurched into the back of Alexandre Lacazette, and Mike Dean awarded a penalty. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, cool as you like, pinched it past Ben Foster to raise the stakes on Watford’s big afternoon.
Watford responded well, and soon Arsenal, who passed Manchester City off the Wembley park a week ago, couldn’t get out of their own half. The visitors were coming from all angles, first from the right, then from the left, Ismaila Sarr and Roberto Pereyra keeping Arsenal penned in. If they were going down, they were doing so defiantly.
But going down they were. Minutes later it was two for Arsenal, Nicolas Pépé whipped in a cross which Aubameyang couldn’t control, but there was defender Kieran Tierney bolting on to the scene to crash the ball past Foster, via a deflection.
It was harsh on Watford, in every sense, but Arsenal’s third, a stylish overhead kick from Aubameyang, showed up the naïvety that had brought them to the brink. Dawson, at fault for the opener, gave the Premier League’s second-top scorer all the time he needed to do whatever he liked with the ball, which was let it bounce and ping it acrobatically past Foster.
Arteta will dearly hope it’s not the last goal his star striker will score on this ground. Aubameyang’s future is just one uncertainty in a summer likely to be full of them, with transfer funds set to be dependent on player sales, even if the team trump Chelsea in the FA Cup final and qualify for the Europa League.
No one could deny that Arsenal have improved under Arteta. There is a clearly-communicated respect at work between the manager and his squad, and with the right tweaks this will be a team ready to make strides when the new season begins on 12 September.
There was still the matter of this season to be wrapped up, though. A penalty gave Watford hope, David Luiz signing off the season on-brand by bringing down Danny Welbeck, and Troy Deeney blasted past Emiliano Martinez to shave an inch or two off his team’s mountain to climb.
On 65 minutes, it got better still. There was Sarr again down the right, and there was Welbeck at the near post, finishing first-time past Martinez; 3-2, and Watford had found their grip.
But it always seemed an outside bet. Deeney, fittingly after the role he has played in his team’s stay in the Premier League, had the final try for his team, thumping a header narrowly over as the 90 minutes ticked over. Watford are down with a fight, but it will be very small consolation.
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