Tom Cleverley's injury-time strike saw Arsenal fall to a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Watford and end their unbeaten run of seven matches in all competitions.
Arsenal failed to make the most of their spell in control of the game with Per Mertesacker's opener all we had to show for our efforts. That proved costly as Watford hit back with two goals in the final 20 minutes of the game.
The Hornets were awarded a penalty after Hector Bellerin was adjudged to have fouled Richarlison in the box, but I personally felt it seemed harsh and Arsene Wenger also bemoaned the decision. But we can't hide behind one bad decision as we still could have kicked on and either held out for the draw or, better still, pushed on to get a winner. Instead we again worryingly showed our defensive vulnerability to gift Cleverley far too easy a winning goal at the death.
Apart from a few half chances there wasn't too much to shout about in the first half, with Mohamed Elneny shooting just over from outside the box. That was until the opening goal six minutes before the break as Per Mertesacker powerfully headed home Granit Xhaka's corner.
The goal seemed to spark Arsenal into life as Heurelho Gomes parried Xhaka's strike before Bellerin sent an effort wide. Xhaka tried his luck from distance again before the break, but it failed to cause Gomes too much trouble as the goalkeeper denied him with a rather routine save.
Richarlison shot wide in the early stages of the second half before Arsenal substitute Mesut Ozil very nearly made a decisive impact off the bench. The German international's inch-perfect pass found Alex Iwobi in the box, but Gomes produced a superb one-handed save to tip his strike behind for a corner.
The same two players combined again soon after, but Gomes reacted quickly to block Ozil's shot, although the German should have done much better with his effort in the box. That wasted chance proved costly as Watford levelled the scores 18 minutes from time. There didn't appear to be too much contact with Richarlison in the box, but a penalty was given and Deeney successfully fired home from the spot.
There was still plenty time left to have turned the game back in our favour and we only have ourselves to blame for not doing so. Watford now looked the more likely to get the next goal as Richarlison sent a shot into the side netting and Etienne Capoue's deflected strike hit a post.
But we really should have taken at least a point from this game and the defending for Cleverley's winner was truly awful. Cech made a decent save before Rob Holding blocked the follow-up, but nobody could stop Cleverley from smashing the ball home. The winning goal was definitely avoidable and was a very bad one to concede and it makes the defeat even more frustrating.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Watford fan Paul Caygill admitted his side got lucky with the penalty, but was full of praise for his side's performance in the final 20 minutes of the match.
"It was an interesting game," said Caygill. "I felt we were not creative enough in the first half and gave too much respect.
"Silva got in amongst them at half-time and Deeney when he came on was immense. Yes, we may have got away with the penalty decision, but for years we suffered with similar decisions going against us.
"I felt though that getting back to 1-1 was the catalyst for the last 20 minutes and I remember saying to my brother-in-law Stephen, who I watched the game with, the decision for the penalty would either inspire Arsenal or their heads would drop.
"That last 20 minutes was probably the best performance of the season thus far and the desire and will to win is a huge contrast to last season under Mazzarri. Safe to say we would have lost that game last season."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Playing Watford away always has the potential to be a tricky match and they have had a great start to the season, sitting up in fourth place.
If we had put in a decent performance and simply just lost to the better side on the day it would have been easier to accept. Instead we failed to make our possession count and didn't test Gomes anywhere near as much as we should have done.
I am sure we'll bounce back to winning ways soon, but the defensive frailties are rather concerning, as against tougher opposition there is even less margin for error and we need to stop conceding such sloppy goals.
Focus now switches to the Europa League and the trip to face Red Star Belgrade. I still find it hard to get too excited by our Europa League fixtures, but it is a competition we definitely need to take seriously as it could be our best route back into the Champions League.
A tough trip to Everton awaits in our next Premier League game and, although winning is crucial, the next games for me are much more about the performance. We really need to up our game, tighten things up in defence and test the opposition goalkeeper a lot more than we have been doing lately.
We need to sort things out and quickly and make sure we get maximum points from our trips to Serbia and Merseyside!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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