Arsenal ended a run of three successive Premier League defeats on Sunday as they secured a fine victory over Watford to the relief of under-fire manager, Arsene Wenger.
Shkodran Mustafi headed in Mesut Ozil’s left-wing free-kick to give the Gunners an eighth-minute lead, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang collected Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s pass to add a second.
Watford had a chance to pull one back but Troy Deeney’s penalty was saved by Petr Cech, who secured the 200th Premier League clean sheet of his career.
Mkhitaryan sealed Arsenal’s victory, their first league win since beating Everton 5-1 on February 3, with a shot from inside the penalty area following Aubameyang’s pass.
The result leaves the Gunners sixth, 10 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the final Champions League spot.
However, Arsenal could still qualify for next season’s Champions League if they win the Europa League, and that competition affected Arsene Wenger’s team selection on Sunday.
With Arsenal holding a 2-0 lead against AC Milan and playing the second leg of their last-16 leg tie at home on Thursday, Wenger took a risk by making six changes.
Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny were rested, with Jack Wilshere only on the bench, but the gamble paid off for Arsenal.
