Football

Unai Emery bemoans Arsenal’s physical frailty in 2-2 draw with Watford


Unai Emery believes Watford’s physicality was an issue for his Arsenal side (Picture: Getty Images)

Arsenal manager Unai Emery believes that Watford’s physical superiority cost his side three points on Sunday as the Hornets came from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw.

The Gunners were bossing the game at half time, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goals giving them a 2-0 lead at Vicarage Road.

However, the second stanza was an entirely different affair with Watford doing all the attacking and dominating play, leading to Tom Cleverley getting a goal back before Roberto Pereyra equalised from the penalty spot.

Emery has defended his side’s tactics to play the ball out from goal kicks, which led to Cleverley’s goal, and says Watford exploited their physical strengths more impressively in the second half.

‘Two different halves, the first half we were winning 2-0 and controlling the match as we wanted,’ Emery told Sky Sports. ‘In the second half they pushed it and with their supporters, they pushed for our mistakes, which we did more than we wanted to do.

‘In the second half we will take a lot of information from on how we can improve, how we can do our way better because our way needs work on a lot of things.

‘But that’s Watford, the second half they push, they are physically stronger than us and they gave us that bad moment in the second half.

‘We were also trying the long ball and physically they are more strong than us and they were also winning the long ball.’

Emery singled out Matteo Guendouzi as a young player who is bound to make mistakes (Picture: Getty Images)

Cleverley intercepted a Sokratis Papastathopoulos pass to score Watford’s first goal, but it was midfielder Matteo Guendouzi who Emery singled out to defend as a young player who will learn from mistakes in games such as this one.

‘That is experience,’ continued the Spaniard. ‘We have a lot of young players who needed to have that moment, for example Matteo, but he’s working a lot to improve and will take experience from matches like today, sometimes it will come with bad results, with some mistakes, but we can grow up with the mistakes and really learn for us in the next matches.

‘We were speaking in the first half, 2-0 was not enough, we needed to do the same work in the second as in the first, knowing they were going to push more.

‘In the second half they deserved the result.

‘We continue the way we work, we need to improve, we need to take some information from this match. We can be disappointed, but also we learn about that.

‘Watford was a good team last year and they played like that today.’

The Hornets are still looking for their first win of the season, picking up only their second point as they remain bottom of the Premier League, while Arsenal go seventh with the point.

MORE: Granit Xhaka says his Arsenal team-mates were ‘scared’ during draw with Watford

MORE: Arsenal were ‘like a semi-professional team’ in draw with Watford, says Graeme Souness





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