When Watford left the pitch at Vicarage Road at half-time, trailing by two goals against Arsenal, many could have been forgiven for fearing the worst.

Yet, a spirited second-half display showed that new head coach Quique Sanchez Flores has inspired some belief within his squad.

Here's how we rated their individual performances following an exciting encounter.


Ben Foster - 6

There wasn't a great deal for the goalkeeper to do in all honesty, which must have come as a nice surprise for him following a few busier weeks. 

However, he helped his defenders keep their shape and never stopped barking orders to ensure they remained difficult to break down, particularly after half-time.

Kiko Femenia - 5

An improved performance from Femenia, but there's still some way for him to go to get back to the player he can be.

He looked good going forward, but should have done more to prevent both goals. His tracking back for the first was lazy, while his reaction to Aubameyang for the second was far too slow. 

Craig Dawson - 6

By some distance his best performance since joining in the summer, Dawson finally looked like a player who could handle playing Premier League football. 

He didn't coat himself in glory during the goals, but during that spell no Watford player particularly shone. He was solid for the rest of the match and looked like a different player to the one we've seen in recent weeks.

Christian Kabasele - 6

Alongside Dawson, Kabasele too looked solid and well-organised.

He made several vital tackles and benefited from an all-round more defensive approach to the game. 

Jose Holebas - 5

The full-back's set pieces are still lacking the precision they had before, while his tackling was clumsy and late. He was booked for an altercation in the first half and was rather fortunate it wasn't his second following a mis-timed lunge in the opening ten minutes.

Needs improvement.

Will Hughes - 6

A steady, battling performance from Hughes, who was unlucky not to have won a free-kick before Arsenal opened the scoring.

Etienne Capoue - 8

Wearing the captain's armband in place of the injured Troy Deeney, Capoue really stepped up and produced a top performance.

He won't look back too fondly at the way he failed to play to the whistle and allowed Sead Kolasinac to stroll away from him for Arsenal's first goal, but other than that he was consistently good - his range of passing was terrific and he kept the likes of Mesut Ozil and Danny Ceballos relatively quiet. 

Abdoulaye Doucoure - 7

Alongside Capoue, Doucoure too put in a valiant shift. 

He drove forward with purpose and bossed the Arsenal midfielders around with a robust performance. 

Should have scored the winner in the game's final stages, however.

Tom Cleverley - 8

Another player who really responded to the new head coach was Cleverley, who marked his 200th Premier League appearance with a well-taken goal.

He sat in front of the defensive midfielders and linked play between himself and the wide men effectively.

Watford's 31 shots on goal are proof of how well he helped turn defence into attack.

Gerard Deulofeu - 7

The Catalan winger was a nightmare for Arsenal, but just needed to sharpen up his end product.

The majority of his shots were aimed straight at Leno, while he misplaced a few passes. Still, a strong performance from a player who has been lacking of late.

Andre Gray - 6

The striker had a bit of a thankless task leading the line on his own, but helped create one or two chances and got himself involved in the early stages of the first-half before being substituted shortly after half-tme.

SUBSTITUTES

Ismaila Sarr - 6

The winger looked a little bit shy and nervy after coming on and missed a very good opportunity to score. 

However, he grew into the game and set up what should have been the winner for Doucoure.

Roberto Pereyra - 7

The Argentine was initially quiet after his introduction, but eventually made his mark by winning and then subsequently converting the all important penalty. 

Daryl Janmaat - N/A

Joined too late to make a significant impact.