Arsenal just edged through their Premier League clash against Watford with a 1-0 victory, despite playing most of the game with a man advantage.
Troy Deeney was sent off early on for an elbow in Lucas Torreira’s face, not long after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had given Arsenal the lead by punishing a Ben Foster mistake. However, rather than sparking a spree of goalscoring, that ended up being the only time either side found the net.
Unai Emery won’t care much, as his side got the three away points they desperately needed, moving back up into the top four with a game in hand on Chelsea and a two-point lead on Manchester United.
Let’s have a look at our player ratings for the clash.
2Midfield
Lucas Torreira 7
Torreira was involved in a lot of contentious incidents in the early stages, one of which resulted in Troy Deeney receiving a red card. There wasn’t much the Uruguayan did to provoke Watford’s physicality, not that the home supporters cared much about that. However, he was to blame for a couple of loose balls in the first half, inviting counters.
Nonetheless, most of his work was very positive, as he pressed Watford high up the field and did complete 91% of his attempted passes. He was withdrawn at half-time, possibly with the second leg against Napoli in mind.
Granit Xhaka 7.5
Back in the team after injury, Xhaka controlled the game from midfield as he always does. He attempted 98 passes, completing 89% of them and creating a couple of chances, and he also had a good shot from the edge of the box well saved by Foster.
Aaron Ramsey 7.5
Fresh from his impressive performance at home to Napoli, Ramsey looked dangerous in front of goal in the first half, picking up nice positions in the box as always. He had to drop back a bit after the break, as Torreira came off for Özil, but maintained his solid performance overall. He came off for a rest after 67 minutes.