Arsenal continued their good run of form in the Premier League with a 3-0 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
The Gunners had to wait until midway through the second half before they broke down the Hornets but once they did, it opened up the floodgates as the North Londoners secured their third straight league win.
The opener came in the 62nd minute when Mesut Ozil bore down on goal but the pressure from the Watford defence saw the ball for Alexis Sanchez who slotted home off the inside of the near upright for his sixth goal in his past there league outings.
A second goal was soon delivered when Ozil chased down a loose ball near the byline before cutting back for Olivier Giroud who struck with a first-time effort on his non-preferred right foot before Aaron Ramsey wrapped it up on 74 minutes when he received a ball from Hector Bellerin, after a strong run from the right-back, before the Wales international poked beyond Heurelho Gomes.
The victory saw Arsene Wenger's side remain second on the table, two points behind league leaders Manchester City, as Quique Sanchez Flores' Watford dropped to 15th after a third straight winless outing.
MATCH OVERVIEW
Watford: 0
Arsenal: 3 (Alexis Sanchez 62', Olivier Giroud 68', Aaron Ramsey 74')
Vicarage Road, Watford - 20,721
TALKING POINTS
- Is this Arsenal side good enough to challenge City? Or does Wenger need to spend in January?
- Watford beginning to feel the pinch having scored just one goal in their past three. How do they help Odion Ighalo?
WHAT'S NEXT?
After taking on Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday, Arsenal will focus their attention on the visit of Everton on the weekend while Watford will prepare themselves for a tough trip to Stoke City.
TWITTER INSIGHT
Nice to get on the scoresheet, been a long time coming! Great performance by the boys #AFChttp://t.co/r3ysV6Hcfypic.twitter.com/aNPqv5smTa
— Aaron Ramsey (@aaronramsey) October 17, 2015
Yeeeeeaaah!!! The first hour was quite tough but then we showed our potential! Next win and back on P2 Great! #YaGunnersYa#WFCvAFC
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) October 17, 2015
DEENEY: "A lesson learned but plenty of positives from first 65 mins" Read more: http://t.co/7cFanpdELx#watfordfcpic.twitter.com/wYnRzK7Oks
— Watford FC (@WatfordFC) October 17, 2015
QUOTES CORNER
Watford boss Flores on his side's showing:
"It was very difficult to accept what happened after one hour because in the first half and the first 15 minutes of the second half, we went in the right way.
"We worked well against Arsenal, but after the first goal the morale of the players went down and down."
Arsenal's Wenger on getting the better of Watford:
"To beat Watford you have to be completely committed to the game because we faced a team that was well organised and knew exactly what they wanted to do.
"When we scored the first goal, I like the fact we continued to attack and got a convincing win."
STATS SPECIALS
*Thanks to Opta
0 - Watford have never won a Premier League game in the month of October (D4 L5). Spooked.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 17, 2015
6 - Alexis Sanchez has now scored in six consecutive games for club and country, netting 10 games in total. Streak.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 17, 2015
27 - Aaron Ramsey has scored his first Premier League goal of the season with what was his 27th shot (inc. blocked). Wait.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 17, 2015
TEAM LEADERS
WATFORD
Goals - Odion Ighalo 5
Assists - Troy Deeney 3
Clean sheets - Heurelho Gomes 3
Yellow cards - Allan Nyom 3
Red cards - Valon Behrami 1
ARSENAL
Goals - Alexis Sanchez 6
Assists - Mesut Ozil 6
Clean sheets - Petr Cech 5
Yellow cards - Santi Cazorla 3
Red cards - Santi Cazorla 1