Arsenal took on Watford in a behind-closed-doors friendly match at London Colney on Saturday, with a first-team side playing 45 minutes.

Eddie Nketiah and Martin Odegaard celebrate a goal in an Arsenal friendly vs Watford (Photo via Arsenal.com)
Eddie Nketiah and Martin Odegaard celebrate a goal in an Arsenal friendly vs Watford (Photo via Arsenal.com)

A number of Arsenal’s senior stars were involved in a game for the first time since the World Cup break began on Saturday, as the Gunners took on Watford in a friendly at London Colney.

First half

Marquinhos scores in an Arsenal friendly vs Watford (Photo via Arsenal.com)
Marquinhos scores in an Arsenal friendly vs Watford (Photo via Arsenal.com)

For the first 45 minutes, Arsenal named a senior side against Watford, albeit not a full-strength side.

Karl Hein was in goal, with Cedric Soares, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Kieran Tierney in defender, Mohamed Elneny, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard in midfield, and Reiss Nelson, Marquinhos, and Eddie Nketiah in attack.

The Gunners dominated the half, with Elneny involved in the early chances. The midfielder forced an excellent save and saw another shot flying just wide, before Nketiah fired a shot narrowly past the post.

Lokonga then hit the post with a nice shot set up by Odegaard, before Arsenal eventually made the breakthrough courtesy of a curling effort from Marquinhos for 1-0.

Despite Arsenal’s dominance, Watford promptly equalised, capitalising on a long ball for 1-1. But it didn’t take Arsenal long to retake the lead, with Nketiah rising well to head home a Tierney cross before the half-time break.

Second half

Ethan Nwaneri plays for Arsenal in their friendly against Watford (Photo via Arsenal.com)
Ethan Nwaneri plays for Arsenal in their friendly against Watford (Photo via Arsenal.com)

After that, Arsenal’s u21s had a chance to play the second half, with the entire first team coming off apart from Karl Hein in goal, who remained on until the 58th minute (when u21 goalkeeper Hubert Graczyk replaced him).

Reuell Walters, Taylor Foran, Zane Monlouis, and Lino Sousa started in the defence for the second half, with Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, and Matt Smith in midfield, and Charles Sagoe Jr, Amario Cozier-Duberry, and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji in the front three.

The u21s almost managed to add to Arsenal’s lead in the early stages of the second period, with Foran heading a Cozier-Duberry corner against the post, but the Championship side eventually took the upper hand.

Joseph Hungbo, Keinan Davis, and Yaser Asprilla scored in the second period to condemn the young side to an eventual 4-2 defeat, but they’ll definitely take a lot from the experience all the same.

Video highlights

Arsenal have released a full video highlights package for the friendly match, which you can check out here.

Arsenal World Cup schedule (times in GMT)

  • November 13th-November 27th – Time off
  • November 28th – Return to training
  • December 3rd – Arsenal 2-4 Watford (London Colney)
  • December 4th – Travel to Dubai for a warm-weather camp
  • December 8th, 15:30 – Arsenal vs Lyon (Al Maktoum Stadium)
  • December 13th, 14:00 – Arsenal vs Milan (Al Maktoum Stadium)
  • December 14th – Travel back to London
  • December 17th, 18:00 – Arsenal vs Juventus (Emirates Stadium)
  • W/C December 19th – Rumoured 5th friendly (London Colney)
  • December 26th – The Premier League returns