Smith Rowe nets, Aubameyang misses penalty as Arsenal remain unbeaten in 10 games, move up to 5th on PL table

Smith Rowe nets, Aubameyang misses penalty as Arsenal remain unbeaten in 10 games, move up to 5th on PL table

SportsBrief.com, Lukman Mumuni
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:51 PM
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  • Emile Smith Rowe was the hero in Mikel Arteta 100 game in charge of Arsenal as they beat Watford 1-0
  • Watford's Juraj Kucka was sent off late on in the game while Aubameyang saw his penalty saved by Ben Foster in the first half
  • Arsenal have now moved up to fifth in the Premier League after the win and are level on same points with West Ham

Arsenal moved up to 5th in the Premier League table after a 1-0 win against Watford thanks to a second-half strike from Emile Smith Rowe.

The victory also meant that the Gunners have remained unbeaten in 10 games across all competitions as they continue their good form.

Smith Rowe scores for Arsenal
Smith Rowe scores for Arsenal against Watford. Photo by Ryan Pierse
Source: UGC

Taking charge of his 100th game in charge at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta named an unchanged back four from the win over Leicester, with Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel and Nuno Tavares all featuring.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles comes in for injured Partey in midfield, while Sambi Lokonga partnered the England international.

Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Alexandre Lacazette made up the strong attacking quartet

And it was Saka who thought he had scored the opening goal of the game but his early strike was overturned by VAR for offside.

However, 10 minutes before halftime, former Tottenham defender Danny Rose committed a blatant foul on Alexandre Lacazette and the referee wasted no time to point to the spot.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's penalty was however superbly saved by the impressive Ben Foster. The first half ended 0-0.

But with just 11 minutes into the second half, Smith Rowe gave Arsenal the lead from 18 yards for his fifth goal of the season.

Arsenal's wastefulness and Foster's string of saves set up a nervy finish for the hosts but they held on to claim a big win.

Watford star Juraj Kucka was sent off in the final minutes for two bookable offences.

Arsenal have now moved up to fifth in the Premier League, level on points with West Ham.

Aston Villa sack Dean Smith

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Aston Villa have sacked manager Dean Smith after five straight defeats in the Premier League.

Since beating Man United 1-0 win at Old Trafford on Saturday, September 25, Aston Villa have lost five games on a bounce in the Premier League.

These defeats came again Tottenham, Wolves, Arsenal, West Ham, and most recently Southampton.

Dean Smith was appointed in October 2018 and helped Villa earn promotion back to the Premier League in his first season in charge at the club

The Englishman becomes the fifth Premier League manager to lose his job this season after Xisco Munoz (Watford), Steve Bruce (Newcastle), Nuno Espirito Santo (Tottenham), and Daniel Farke (Norwich).

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Lukman Mumuni
Lukman Abdul Mumin is a Sports Journalist based in Accra, Ghana. He has been writing for the past five years. Lukman joined Sports Brief as an Editor for the Local Desk in 2022.
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