LONDON (AFP) - Arsenal moved into the Premier League top four, but made hard work of seeing off 10-man Watford 1-0 thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's fortunate early opener on Monday (April 15).
Aubameyang profited from an error by Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster as he blasted an attempted clearance in off the Gabon international.
Watford captain Troy Deeney was then shown a straight red card after just 11 minutes, but the Gunners failed to make the most of their man advantage and were fortunate as the hosts twice hit the woodwork.
However, Unai Emery's men held out for a first clean sheet away from home in the Premier League this season to move ahead of Chelsea on goal difference into fourth.
Arsenal also edge to within a point of north London rivals Tottenham and two clear of Manchester United in the four-way battle for the two remaining Champions League places behind Liverpool and Manchester City.
FA Cup finalists Watford were already shorn of the man who helped book their place at Wembley against Manchester City next month as Gerard Deulofeu missed out through injury and Javi Gracia's side did themselves little favours early on.
Firstly, Foster dallied as Aubameyang closed in to concede a comical opener.
And within seconds, Deeney was punished for an elbow into the face of Lucas Torreira.
Arsenal now have just three days to prepare for the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final away to Napoli and should have ensured an easier finish.
Aubameyang saw another effort deflected behind at the end of a sweeping counter-attack, while Foster also turned over a fierce Alex Iwobi shot.
However, the 10 men were still causing problems to a defensively vulnerable Arsenal at the other end.
Craig Cathcart's shot was turned onto the post by Bernd Leno and the German goalkeeper was also a full stretch to turn an Etienne Capoue free-kick behind.
Emery introduced Mesut Ozil at half-time in an attempt to improve Arsenal's final ball with so much space to counter-attack into, but to little avail.
Iwobi looked to have provided the perfect cross to pick out Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but Foster made amends for his earlier error by spreading himself to make a brilliant save from the Armenian.
Arsenal's terrible away record is why they face such a tight battle to secure Champions League football next season.
And they could have thrown just a second away league win since November away as Adam Masina crashed a 25-yard strike off the crossbar before Andre Gray miscontrolled Daryl Janmaat's pass when clean through on Leno.
Gray was then denied by a last-ditch challenge from Ainsley Maitland-Niles after rounding Leno, but without the firepower of Deulofeu and Deeney, Watford's brave effort fell just short.
The investigation was triggered by European football's governing body in March. Man City appeal against possible Champions League ban. Man City appeal against possible Champions League ban.
Man City appeal possible Champions League ban
Football: Kedah-bound national defender Shakir Hamzah enjoying a new lease of life national defender Shakir Hamzah could have easily turned out to be one of those talented footballers who
Football: Kedah-bound national defender Shakir Hamzah
Kean's Late Goal Puts Juventus On Brink Of Serie A Title. the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs AC Milan on April 6, 2019 at the Juventus stadium in Turin. Moise Kean scored the
Kean winner puts Juventus on the brink of title | The Daily Star
Just days after Italy saw Moise Kean become its youngest scorer in over 60 years, Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella set a new mark on the other end of age range
Quagliarella becomes oldest Italy scorer | The Daily Star
Gymkhana FC's president Patrick Francis has lashed out against the decision of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to expel his club from the National Football League (NFL) for its failure to send down the full set of 11 players at the start of three matches this year. Speaking to The
U.S. businesses optimistic on China growth, bemoan unfair
Football: Solskjaer maintains perfect start as Man United
With Harry Kane and Dele Alli sidelined until March, everyone was ready to write off Tottenham Hotspur's season as predictions of a slide down the table arrived. Without their star players, the story went, Mauricio Pochettino's men would crumble and be dragged back into the dogfight that is the battle for fourth.
Football: Aston Villa into playoff final after shootout win over West Brom Aston Villa's Jack Grealish (left) and John McGinn celebrate after winning the penalty shootout against West Bromwich on
Villa into playoff final after shootout win over West Brom
Synonyms of high-stakes gambler | Thesaurus.com
LONDON (Reuters) - Ajax Amsterdam took a massive stride towards a first Champions League final for 23 years as Donny van de Beek's early goal earned a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday. Erik ten Hag's youthful Ajax side, featuring several players polished
Kolasinac delighted by 'big win' but urges focus. By. Andrew Allen - April 12, 2019. 17. We need cool, confident (but not over-confident) heads at the SPS and
Real Madrid set to bid €120m for Eden Hazard — report. New, 74 comments. to not sell him if he doesn't want to sign a new contract, which he definitely does not (or he would've done so
Homes Hazard | Jump-Start your Home Search
AD
Tottenham's Pochettino comes away empty handed again but not yet for his titles. Pochettino failed to win his first title as a coach on Saturday after Tottenham lost 2-0 to Liverpool in the
Mauricio Pochettino: Tottenham boss questions side's title
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen