Olivier Giroud insists Arsenal can win the title but fears Zlatan Ibrahimovic's influence on Manchester United

Watford vs Arsenal - analysis

• 1/5 Mustafi will do well to dislodge Holding

  At £35million Shkodran Mustafi looks set to be the third most expensive centre-back in history but don’t expect him to immediately dislodge a player who was relegated from the Championship just a few months ago.
  Holding faced another gruelling examination in the form of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo but emerged with his burgeoning reputation further improved. The physicality of Watford’s captain was nothing the youngster couldn’t deal with – indeed on several occasions he was the victor of their aerial tussles.
  As for Ighalo, the tone was set early on when he whipped the ball of the Nigerian on a dangerous sally down the left. If this is Holding’s last start for a while at least the 20-year-old can rest assured he did all he could to make his case to Arsene Wenger.

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• 2/5 Santi Cazorla is back where he belongs

  Whether or not he is Arsenal’s best midfielder could be the subject of intense debate but Cazorla’s key role in the team’s dynamics cannot be doubted. From the moment he hobbled off against Norwich last season Wenger’s side lost their mojo, now that the Spaniard is back to full fitness Arsenal are singing once more.
  Aided by the energetic Granit Xhaka he gave Arsenal control and incision, whilst both displayed plenty of energy in the tackle. For all the talk of Wenger’s multitudinous options in central areas the likes of Francis Coquelin and Aaron Ramsey must play very well indeed to wrestle a place from these two.

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• 3/5 Strikerless Arsenal look their most deadly yet

  The Alexis Sanchez as centre forward experiment was deemed to have failed over the first two games of the season but perhaps it was just that the supporting cast weren’t quite clicking. Today they found a way of making their front four better than the already impressive sum of their parts.
  Sanchez in particular looked freed from his positional responsibilities, slipping out to the left and dragging Sebastian Prodl and Younes Kaboul with him. That left space for Mesut Ozil to burst into – just as Wenger has long wanted him to. Elsewhere Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla were flitting into whatever position they could find, leaving Watford’s back three chasing shadows.
  This new system reached its pinnacle on Arsenal’s third, where Cazorla and Sanchez doubled up on the left, the latter delivering a cross for Ozil to head home.

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• 4/5 Theo Walcott is rediscovering his confidence

  The England winger will always be a largely peripheral presence in this Arsenal side, because that is his job. He can’t replicate the one-touch passing of Ozil, Cazorla and Xhaka but today Walcott had the cutting edge that he is all too often missing.
  His cross for Sanchez’s goal was just what was required – it may have been his only telling contribution but the timing of the goal knocked the stuffing out of Watford. By contrast it brought the best out of Walcott, who went close both with a snap volley and an impudent chip as confidence flowed through him.

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• 5/5 Mazzarri needs to use the players who make his system work

  Daryl Janmaat is a high-quality full-back capable of covering an entire flank. Roberto Pereyra is just the sort of schemer who can link Deeney and Ighalo with the rest of the side. Both were on the bench at kick-off today.
  In their place Mazzarri named Nordin Amrabat, a dangerous wide forward scarcely equipped to deal with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mesut Ozil, and Etienne Capoue. The latter may possess a high-quality engine but he does not have the guile to prise a defence like Arsenal’s apart.
  New signings they may be but Pereyra in particular has had over a week to work with the squad, why was it he not deemed ready for the start but could be thrown on the break with the game effectively over. It was the same for Janmaat.

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