Tom Cleverley said the Watford players saw an opportunity to hurt Arsenal late on, after their equaliser from the penalty spot.

The former Manchester United man says he gambled for his late winner because he didn’t feel worried about the Gunners scoring at that stage.

He explained after the match: “You smell a little bit of blood but not just with Arsenal, you do that at home with any team,” reports the Daily Star.

“I felt we were on the front foot and I gambled a little bit for the goal and if you were a bit more wary of a team then maybe I wouldn’t have done.”

The problem, as Cleverley points out, was that Arsenal hadn’t been dangerous at all for most of the second-half, creating only three chances in the 45 minutes.

If you’re creating one chance every 15 minutes, there really isn’t much for your opponents to be afraid of. In my opinion, they are bound to gamble in the hope of punishing you late on if you’re not posing a threat at the other end.

That’s exactly what Watford ended up doing, so Arsenal have to take the blame for giving the Hornets that opportunity and encouragement. Unfortunately, this is far from the first time Arsenal have suffered from not putting a game away.

Earlier this season, the Gunners were dominant in the shots and possession against Stoke, but didn’t score, and suffered defeat in the second half. It needs to change.

Arsenal are currently sixth in the Premier League with 13 points from eight games, nine adrift of leaders Manchester City.