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It looks like the race for this final Champions League spot for this season will go down the wire as Arsenal have displaced Manchester United from 4th position with a win away at Watford.
The Gunners put up a mixed performance at Vicarage Road to defeat the Hornets 2-3 and move one point ahead of Manchester United, who afterwards lost 4-1 to Manchester City.
Martin Odegaard broke his long waited duck of scoring after blanking in eight matches as he slotted into the bottom left corner to give Arsenal the lead under five minutes after good work from Bukayo Saka down the right to assist the Norwegian.
The complexion of the game could have been different though had Emmanuel Dennis' goal for Watford after just 17 seconds not been ruled out for offside. That would have being a record-setting goal in the competition.
It was definitely a warning for Arsenal which they didn't really take throughout the game. At various times, Watford exploited what looked like a disorganized Arsenal at the back, but the Hornets' inability to capitalize on them allowed Arsenal get away.
Prior to the game, the Arsenal defence had received praises for their doggedness, especially in recent weeks, with Ben White and Gabriel Maghaeles in the heart of it. Both looked a bit off today, but Watford's lack of quality to punish Arsenal at those times was their undoing.
Thanks to Cucho Hernandez who scored with a wonderful bicycle kick to level things mid way into the first half. That goal threw the game open and it looked like we were set for a thrilling afternoon.
Nonetheless that Arsenal were not too solid at the back on the day, they found a way to make up for that in the final third and by the 30th minute of the game, they were back in front. Maybe a bit of Watford being architects of their own downfall as Tom Cleverly was caught napping on the ball by Saka, who picked his pocket, played a one-two with Alexandre Lacazette and the Arsenal captain's return ball on the back heel was fired into the top corner by Saka.
Saka has continued on his upward trajectory in the Arsenal team. He makes football look very easy. Same could be said of Emile Smith Rowe, who sadly couldn't make the team due to Covid-19. He was a menace down on the right side and looked a threat whenever he got the ball. He was always like hot knife through butter with the way he easily found his way into the Watford defence.
Arsenal looked to be headed for a comfortable victory when Gabriel Martinelli scored what would prove to be the winner. It was a very unusual circumstance.
Bukayo Saka took a quick throw in down the right aided by somebody in a black jacket as he picked out Cedric Soares, who was still deputising for the injured Takehiro Tomiyasu. The Portuguese found Odegaard, who played it to Lacazette and the Arsenal captain teed up Martinelli, who like Saka fired into the top side of the net.
It was a classic Arsenal goal. At first, I was confused as to why a Watford ball-boy would aid Arsenal to a quick throw in the move that led to the goal until the cameras showed the replay and behold, it was Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who had doubled as the the ball boy to help Arsenal with that quick restart. It was one kind of a moment.
Eddie Nketiah almost made it four after coming on for Lacazette in the closing minutes. A few step overs to create space for himself, but his shot came off the base of the post. Arsenal's inability to kill the game when they had the chances to ensured that they had a nervy finish to the game when Moussa Sissoko pulled one back in the 87th minute.
Like we saw in the Wolves game, Arsenal were able to pull through that final minutes of additional time as they marched into 4th place with three games in hand over Manchester United.
Roy Hodgson is definitely a worried man after his team have only managed nine points from their last (now) 18 games. They're deep in the relaxation waters and would need to do a lot better to stay up.
With every passing game, Odegaard looks to be establishing himself as a fans' favorite. He ran things in the middle, giving Arsenal seamless passage into the final third and his eye for picking out those pockets of spaces has been important for Arsenal. It was indeed another man of the a match performance from the Norwegian. These kinds of performances keep pundits believing that the £35 million Arsenal paid for him was indeed a bargain.
Let's see if Arsenal can hold on to this seat that they have grabbed.