Postpublished at 29 mins

29 mins

Arsenal 0-0 Watford

Ooh, goodness me, Gabriel's got away with one here. 50-50 challenge with Troy Deeney and he slides in, both feet off the floor, and catches Deeney. The Watford man stays down, clutching his ankle, but Gabriel escapes. It really should have been a booking - at least.

Fair to say a lot of Arsenal's play is coming down the right wing so far...

Image source, .

With right-back Calum Chambers getting very involved linking up with Joel Campbell (number 28).

Image source, .

Ooh, chance for Watford. Arsenal are suddenly caught out by a long channel ball to Ighalo, he's one-on-one with the defender, but he tries a hopeless pass to Deeney and it's easily intercepted. Quique Sanchez Flores slaps his thigh in frustration.

Chambers looks up and sees Alexis Sanchez pulling off the shoulder of Sebastian Prodl downfield, but the Austrian defender does really well to get his head on the long diagonal.

Steve Claridge
Ex-Leicester striker at the Emirates Stadium for BBC Radio 5 Live

"I think that's another example of Calum Chambers lacking confidence - another touch would have completely changed the angle of the cross and made it far easier to pick out Olivier Giroud. In the end it was easy for Costel Pantilimon to claim."

Chambers is getting absolutely acres of space on the right. Again he canters free down the right and puts in a low cross, but again it's too close to the keeper. Arsenal bang on top though.

Image source, Rex Features

Sanchez plays a lovely flick to Giroud, and the striker does really well to hold the ball up long enough for Sanchez - who had been shoved to the floor - to get up and receive the return ball. He then tries an ambitious shot from far out on the angle, but it sails wide.

Kieran Gibbs gets free in the area and pulls the ball back towards Joel Campbell, who is waiting to pull the trigger, but Nathan Ake does really well to stretch out a leg and divert the ball to safety.

Image source, Rex Features

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Gabriel rather needlessly wrestles Ighalo to the ground, and Watson takes a quick free-kick. It's dinked in towards Ighalo, but Gabriel is there to shut the door - legally this time.

Calum Chambers not having one of his better crossing days so far. Again he has time and space to measure a delivery from the right, but this time he picks out the 6ft 8in frame of Costel Pantilimon.

Arsenal with all of the ball. There's only just over 10 minutes gone but still, that's already a lot of chasing Watford have had to do... 

Image source, Opta

Dear oh dear oh dear. Watford win a free kick and Sebastian Prodl rolls it straight out of play. He at least looks pretty sheepish about it.

Sanchez plays a neat one-two with Mesut Ozil and pokes the ball through to Olivier Giroud, but the striker can't sort his feet to make space for a shot.

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Arsenal are hunting in pairs at the moment - Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny together hunt down Ben Watson and Coquelin slides in with a textbook tackle.

Up the other end, Watford have their first effort when Odion Ighalo sees a shot from an angle blocked by Per Mertesacker.

Image source, Reuters

Is this the breakthrough for Arsenal? No - flag's up! Alexis Sanchez threads the ball through to Giroud, who finishes low under Pantilimon. The replay shows it was a very tight call.

The Hornets, by the way, haven't scored for 312 minutes - and that was an own goal scored by a Leeds player in the last round of the cup. They've lost their sting.

Arsenal's back four are virtually playing on the halfway line at the moment. All very comfortable. Chambers gets free on the overlap but balloons his cross out of play.

Steve Claridge
Ex-Leicester striker at the Emirates Stadium for BBC Radio 5 Live

"Arsenal do like to play the full-backs high in support of the wide players, and even though Calum Chambers has been involved already for me he looks a little short of confidence. Just now he was a bit hesitant in getting forward again and Joel Campbell just seemed to say to him: 'Get your head up, look forward, get the ball to me and we'll be in again.'" 

Watford coach Quique Sanchez Flores strokes his beard pensively on the touchline. Plenty for him to ponder - it's been all Arsenal so far.