Arsenal’s Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez turn on style against Watford

Arsenal beat Watford to earn their first victory of the season. Both sides had one defeat and a draw from the opening two league matches but Arsenal’s impressive first-half performance earned them three points.

A Santi Cazorla penalty, Alexis Sanchez’s fumbled effort and Mesut Ozil’s header gave the Gunners a 3-0 lead at half-time.

Substitute Roberto Pereyra scored for the Hornets on his debut but it proved to be a consolation for the hosts.

Walter Mazzarri’s side put in a much-improved performance after the break but the Italian was made to wait for his first win as Watford manager.

Much like in previous seasons, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been under pressure from some Gunners fans to spend money in the transfer market.

It was revealed on Friday that Germany defender Shkodran Mustafi and Spanish striker Lucas Perez were undergoing medicals at the Emirates, and Wenger confirmed after Saturday’s win that the deals were done, which takes the club’s spending to almost £100m since last season.

But they did not look like a team in need of extra artillery after a polished first-half display against Watford.

The Gunners broke the deadlock when Sanchez was knocked on the head in the area by Nordin Amrabat, and Cazorla slotted the resulting penalty down the middle.

Sanchez, who looked lively throughout, made it 2-0 when he scrambled home from an accurate Theo Walcott ball into the box.

And Germany forward Mesut Ozil, making his first start for Arsenal after being rested post-Euro 2016, looked to have put the result beyond doubt on the stroke of half-time when he headed in from Sanchez’s pass. BBC Sport