Gunners pass through the Watford Gap.

Gunners pass through the Watford Gap.

Just when they thought that things could hardly have got any worse, Arsenal re-discovered their attacking zest and brio. After those demoralising defeats to Brighton last week at the Amex Stadium, the Carabao Cup Final and Premier League defeats to the breathtaking Manchester City, Arsenal must have been wondering when things would ever get better. There are times when teams suddenly find themselves in the deepest of quicksand and struggling desperately to keep their heads above water.

But finally Arsene Wenger could at last break into a reluctant smile, afforded the luxury of a convincing 3-0 victory over a Watford side who gave an impressive impersonation of a team whose thoughts were quite obviously elsewhere and whose ambitions were restricted to a missed Troy Deeney penalty. Then Watford took themselves on a relaxed stroll around the Emirates, possibly admiring the state of the art architecture at the Emirates and totally disinterested as a viable attacking force.

Whatever it was that Wenger made abundantly clear in the Arsenal dressing room before the game clearly had the desired effect. Wenger has never been one to break valuable crockery and cutlery preferring perhaps the more studious approach. Maybe a copy of  Proust perhaps although that may not be the case. Still the wisdom of Wenger clearly had the desired effect and the 'Wenger Out' banners were momentarily dispensed with and for perhaps the first time in ages the real Arsenal came out to play.

Arsenal, knowing full well that nothing less than a victory would have been good enough to pacify the restless natives, came out of the starting blocks here at the Emirates quickly and positively as if all those unnerving setbacks had been nothing but a figment of their imagination. In the opening stages of this game, Arsenal were afflicted with a case of jitters and nervous apoplexy but then rapidly picked themselves up, built up a steady head of steam and opened up the Watford defence. It was rather like a huge red table cloth being laid out on a banqueting table, a feast for Arsenal's hungry appetites.

Now Arsenal began to reveal all of those very thoughtful and profound passing movements which used to serve them so favourably in seasons gone past and only briefly at the beginning of this season. There can be little doubt that they have stuttered and stumbled through recent matches in painstaking and laborious fashion. Some Sunday lunchtimes seemed to agree with Arsenal and their attacking bio-rhythms seemed to be functioning with an efficiency and speed of thought that left the visitors grabbing hold of the ropes.

Once again Arsenal splashed a whole rainbow of bright colours all over the Emirates, all of the patterns, angles and advanced thought processes that from time to time belonged to the Nou Camp or the Bernabeu. Arsenal clipped the ball gently between themselves rather like passionate gardeners carefully pruning  back lifeless branches and then mowing the lawn with the most loving touch. Suddenly it all seemed to be coming back. This was the kind of football Arsenal fans had grown up with under Wenger: tender, delicate and sensitive, with polish, pizzazz and panache.

Arsenal, at times seemed to float and flow, glide and gallivant around their pitch as if the game of football was so terribly logical that you began to wonder why Watford had bothered to turn up at all. There was the short, quick, quick, slow, slow samba and the measured bossa nova that completely hypnotised the Watford defence. There were the sweet triangles, the passes that were almost hand made and beautifully embroidered, the sharp, staccato movements that looked as if Arsenal had invented them on the spot and finally the three goals that decided the outcome.

For what must have come as a pleasant relief to Arsenal's system, Mezut Ozil reminded the home fans that he can still caress and look after a ball in much the way he'd always done. Ozil controlled and protected the middle of the park with a subtlety, cunning and assurance that had somehow deserted him for quite some time. The German midfield playmaker does resemble Liam Brady at times but there are moments when Ozil does look to the skies in search of any intervention.

When Mohamed Elneny made his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt for quite some time it seemed that Arsenal had returned to something like their former selves. Elneny, all dreadlocks and adventurous intent, roamed and roved forward into the Watford half  like a man hunting for gold. El Neny was full of hard wired industry and energetic endeavour, frequently breaking up the flow of any semblance of a Watford attack with wholesome determination.

Sead Kolasinac, fully bearded and legally aggressive, was full of bristling bite and forceful running, often linking up with El Neny and Ozil, a player of sturdy presence and a beneficial influence on the proceedings. Kolasinac was here, there and everywhere, covering swiftly, tackling effectively and then taking utter command of the Arsenal midfield.

In the seventh minute, Arsenal got the goal they must have thought was beyond him. A free kick was swung in to the Watford penalty area and a straight line of Arsenal defenders rose in unison. But Watford had criminally ignored Shkodran Mustafi. Mustafi, similarly bearded, leapt the highest and totally unmarked, steered his perfectly guided header wide of Watford keeper Karinesi and high into the net.

From that point Watford began to disappear into the North London air like a harmless firework, gentle sparks only occasionally threatening to take the law into their hands but then finding there were legal obstacles in their way. Watford produced powder puff attacks that simply fizzled out just over Arsenal's half way line. It was rather like watching a yellow balloon drifting over the suburban rooftops and then landing on some fetching patio. Only Troy Deeney, Watford's ever alert striker, seemed to show any desire or inclination.

Shortly Arsenal were writing the most impressive signature on the game. In the second half Arsenal wrapped up the three points with a second goal. Another rippling Arsenal movement on the edge of the Watford penalty area ended up with the ball deftly laid back to Henrik Mikhitaryan, whose firmly struck shot flew past the Watford keeper in match winning style.

The icing on Arsenal's now properly decorated cake came after a long goal kick from record breaking Arsenal keeper Petr Cech, celebrating a landmark number of clean sheets. The ball fell kindly to Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and the Arsenal striker effortlessly rounded the Watford keeper for Arsenal's third.

So here we are at the business end of the Premier League season and it all looks as though it may turn out for the best for Arsenal. The fans leaving in their droves from the Emirates streamed out of the ground thinking good thoughts rather than negative ones. Of course there were the empty seats of the fed up and disenchanted but it may not be the worst season they've ever encountered. Now for the completion of the Italian job in the second half of their Europa League tie against Inter Milan.