7 Wenger signings: Looking at Arsenal’s XI when they last won at Watford

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Arsenal travel to Vicarage Road this Sunday in a Premier League fixture which is huge for both the Gunners and Watford.

Mikel Arteta’s side can make another serious step to returning to the UEFA Champions League with a victory in Hertfordshire, whilst Watford will hoping for another upset against Arsenal to claw their way out of the relegation zone.

Form is on Arsenal’s side, with the Gunners winning their last three and looking determined to keep their impressive run going, whilst Watford have won just one of their last six Premier League matches.

Indeed, Arsenal head into this fixture the favourites, yet the north London side have surprisingly not won at Vicarage Road for the good part of three years, where Unai Emery led the Gunners to a 1-0 win against Watford.

But who was in the Arsenal XI that day, and what happened to the plays that tasted victory against the Hornets that April day in 2019?

Koscielny captains Arsenal as Aubameyang bags against Watford

Taking a look at the XI that faced Watford just three years ago will be something of a shock for Arsenal supporters given how much the squad has changed since that fixture.

Of the starting XI, only two players remain at the club in Bernd Leno, who was the clear Arsenal no. 1 at the time ahead of Petr Cech, and Granit Xhaka, who lined up against Lucas Torreira in a midfield pivot.

Former club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the latest player to leave Arsenal from this XI, leads the line with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who earned a reported £180,000-a-week at Arsenal, and Alex Iwobi taking up the wing spots, with Aaron Ramsey over Mesut Ozil in the no. 10 role.

Whilst Aubameyang went on to skipper the Gunners the following season, the man wearing the armband that day was Laurent Koscielny, who had returned that campaign from an Achilles heel injury which threatened to end the Frenchman’s career early.

The part of the XI that will send shivers down Arsenal fans’ spines, though, is that of Shkodran Mustafi. At £35m according to BBC Sport, the defender is often regarded as one of the club’s worst-ever modern signings and one of seven Arsene Wenger made who started against Watford in 2019.

The German international might have kept a clean sheet that night, but just a week later Mustafi would commit an error against Crystal Palace that see Arsenal miss out on Champions League qualification.