Arsene Wenger could only watch from the stands as Arsenal lost at home Watford. The Gunners boss serving the second match of a four-match ban would be fuming as Watford scored twice in three minutes, putting the Gunners title race in jeopardy.
Arsenal lost chance to move ahead of Tottenham and draw closer to Chelsea at the top of the table after both clubs drew their matches against Sunderland and Liverpool respectively. A win over Watford would have reduced the gap at the top to six points and made the trip to Stamford Bridge easier.
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Arsenal have not won the title in the last 12 seasons and now face the huge task of clawing back a nine-point deficit on Chelsea with the two set to meet this weekend.
Going into this match, the London club have been undefeated at the Emirates since the opening day loss against Liverpool, winning eight and drawing two but they were complacent against Watford who defeated them 1-2 to secure their first top-flight win over the Gunners since 1988.
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It took just 10 minutes for Watford to take the lead through Younes Kaboul and doubled their lead three minutes after as Troy Deeney tapped in the rebound after Etienne Capoue’s shot was saved by Petr Cech.
Arsenal improved significantly in the second half and halved the deficit through Alex Iwobi but they were unable to find the equalizer. They now have a must win match against Chelsea on Saturday if they are to remain in the title race.