By Chris Harris
It has been a remarkable journey for Watford and their impressive young manager, Adie Boothroyd. Eyebrows were raised when the Hornets appointed the then 35-year-old a little over 18 months ago but he has delivered the goods.
After achieving his first aim - Championship survival - Boothroyd guided Watford to promotion via the play-offs in May. Points have been hard to come by in the Premiership but they have put the frighteners up all of their opponents. We asked Anthony Matthews, Sports Editor of the Watford Observer, for an insight into Arsenal's next opponents.
THE STORY SO FAR
"They have been unfortunate to a degree in that no one has
battered them but they are not so unfortunate in the sense that it
took them until the Fulham game [on October 2] to capitalise on
their chances. You can safely say without bias that their points
total should be in double figures and it would have been if
they'd taken their chances. That wasn't a problem last
year, Watford were the second highest scorers in the Championship.
I think it is a step up in class for them and you get punished if
you miss chances and commit errors. Also, Watford lack a natural
predator in front of goal. Marlon King, for all his talents, is not
a six-yard box man. So far the most impressive performance I've
seen is the 1-1 draw against West Ham. watford took the game to
them and really should have won. The first 70 minutes against
Fulham were good too, before they imploded."
MAN OF THE MOMENT
"Adie Boothroyd's strengths include his magnificent
attention to detail. He leaves no stone unturned and after every
game he has a debriefing session with the players. He's a great
learner too, he freely admits he talks to people and uses their
ideas. It was a shock to everyone when the board appointed him but
they had clearly done their homework. I think Watford's Chief
Executive knew him from their time together at West Brom - when
Boothroyd was running the academy - and you have to give the board
credit because their decision has been vindicated. Boothroyd kept
Watford in the Championship when he first arrived, then after a
shaky start to last season they never looked back and won
promotion."
NEW FACES
"Damien Francis has looked quite solid in the centre of the
park. He's a good, tough tackler and gets into the box.
Boothroyd hasn't really brought many players in though, he has
kept faith with most of the players who got Watford
promoted."
THE BOY MOST LIKELY TO...
"I'm a big fan of Ashley Young. He made his full England
Under-21 debut in midweek and is very versatile. He can play on the
left or the right but I think he's most effective down the
middle alongside Marlon King. He is a box of tricks and can get
more involved in central positions. He has delivered the most
crosses in the Premiership this season and that says something
about the way Watford play. They are direct, shift the ball wide
and get balls into the box. They play to their strengths."
CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM
"The best-case scenario is that they start winning and quick.
If they do that they can build some momentum and perhaps finish
lower-mid table. The good thing about the 3-3 draw with Fulham was
that they got their cutting edge back. If they can eliminate errors
they can climb the table. I'm not sure whether there are three
teams worse than Watford but there are certainly one or two. The
key games will be against the sides in and around the relegation
zone, like next week's trip to Charlton. Watford are certainly
capable of putting a run together."
TALKING TACTICS
"I think they will give it a go against Arsenal because they
don't know any differently. Watford are not a defensive team
and if they try to sit back - as they did against Fulham - they
will have problems. I imagine Boothroyd will start with a 4-4-2 and
he may go with five in the middle if Watford can get in front. The
big unknown is what he does to keep Thierry Henry quiet. I think he
will try to kill the supply line. Watford will be in Arsenal's
faces, they will take the game to them and try to interrupt their
rhythm."
