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Football London
Football London
Sport
Elliott Jackson

'Like a semi-professional team' - Arsenal blasted by Sky pundit over failings in Watford draw

Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness has labelled Arsenal's second-half performance against Watford as "like a semi-professional team".

The Gunners threw away a two-goal lead at Vicarage road to draw 2-2 with the Hornets.

Despite being in complete control of the game at the interval, thanks to a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace, they gifted two sloppy goals to allow Watford to take a share of the spoils.

Tom Cleverley seized on a loose pass from Sokratis when trying to play out from the back to reduce the arrears before Ricardo Pereyra levelled the score from the spot after David Luiz conceded a penalty.

The contrast between the two halves has left Arsenal fans baffled, after letting Watford back into the game when in complete control of proceedings.

Souness, unsurprisingly, laid into their second-half showing after the match and labelled their inability to learn from their mistakes as "like a semi-professional team".

Speaking to Sky Sports after the full-time whistle, Souness said: "Their manager after that game must think they're two different teams. They capitulated, Arsenal.

"They didn't win a challenge in the second half. If you're an Arsenal supporter watching that, you must be scratching your head.

Roberto Pereyra is brought down by David Luiz for a penalty. (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

"It's as if, first half, this is the first team and then the second team in the second half. They capitulated.

"Proper teams don't play like that. Proper teams don't have a first-half like that and then play like that in the second half. Proper teams just don't do that.

"That was a game where, at 2-1, it was time to dig in, regroup and make sure they didn't lose the game. They should've lost the game in the second half when the kids came on, they were all over the place.

"There are senior players in that defence for Arsenal. As a manager, you're hoping your bigger players, your experienced players, work it out, we've got a problem here, we're going to concede.

"Arsenal today in that second half were like a semi-professional team playing football.

"By that, I mean they were not learning from their mistakes, which they did time and time again."

Premier League 2019/20 September fixtures
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