Premier League Archives: 08/2016

Arsenal went to Watford, blew them away in the first half, wobbled a bit in the second, but held on to take all three points back to the Emirates.

Alex Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka were absolutely brilliant during Arsenal’s first win of the season against Watford.

Granit Xhaka announced himself to the watching world on Saturday when he displayed his vast, precise and incisive range of passing, his ability to read the game, position himself for maximum effect and generally act like the midfielder we’ve been crying about needing for around 10 years.

There were a few pre-match doubts as to whether Özil was going to start, after returning to first team action during our goalless draw away at Leicester last weekend.

Santi Cazorla is back, ladies and gentleman, and he’s out there controlling out midfield as if it’s the easiest thing in the world.

Arsene Wenger admitted that his side ‘shot themselves in the foot’ against Liverpool as he watched his side get their first win of the season against Watford on Saturday.

Arsenal registered their first win of the new season against Watford.

Kevin Friend will take charge of Arsenal’s game against Watford on Saturday, so what can we expect from the man who was once removed from a match because Tottenham fans complained he supported Leicester?

We might have two new shiny signings about to be announced but at present, we have to work with what we’ve got and even that makes picking a starting XI for Arsenal’s game against Watford a little tricky.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain enjoyed a great pre-season and he looks as if he might be transferring that into a league campaign for the first time in a long while.

You wouldn’t think you could learn anything from a performance that was a carbon copy of a thousand we’ve watched before, but we did.

The Swiss midfielder got his first start for the Arsenal and did not disappoint.

It only took a matter of minutes to see exactly what Arsenal were missing last weekend against Liverpool, the dogged determination to defend consistently well throughout.

Is it “Arsenal get a point away to the champions” or “Arsenal lose two points away to a team trying not to be relegated”?

Arsenal travelled to Leicester knowing that if they were to stop an implosion in their fanbase, they dare not lose.

Can a game be ‘must win when it’s only the second of the season?

Mark Clattenburg, the referee with a Champions League tattoo who is regarded as the best referee in England, will take charge of Arsenal’s first ‘must-win’ game of a season that will only be two games old this weekend.

It’s a case of bouncing back as opposed to building momentum as Arsenal prepare for another tricky test, this time at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Picking an Arsenal team when you’ve got choices is enough to drive you crazy. We give it a go anyway.

Simon Mignolet told the Liverpool Echo that they had studied Arsenal’s penalties ahead of the game on Sunday although he wasn’t sure how much it would help given the absence of normal penalty takers on the pitch.