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Arsene Wenger has come in for much criticism over the last couple of weeks, with his Arsenal team being dumped out of the FA Cup, close to Champions League elimination and sliding further away from the Premier League title, but a certain David Beckham has come to his defence.
On Monday, the former England captain Beckham took to Instagram to reply to a picture of an Arsenal fan's banner which read "Arsene. Thanks for the memories but it's time to say goodbye". The banner was hoisted during Arsenal's 4-0 FA Cup fifth-round reply win over Hull City last Tuesday night.
Replying with a comment on the picture, Beckham wrote: "Disgraceful … No respect attention seekers."
(instagram.com/arsenal_worldwide) Beckham, who retired from the game in 2013, never played for Arsenal, but did train with the Gunners in two different seasons as he looked to keep up his fitness during the MLS off-season. His son, Brooklyn, also spent time playing at the Arsenal Academy.
Show all 22 1 /22Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Arsenal: Ospina 6 out of 10 Watford had two real chances on goal and Ospina could do absolutely nothing about them. Bar picking the ball out of the net he had nothing to do.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Chambers 4 out of 10 His final ball remains atrocious and this performance showed Chambers has the decision making of a centre-back, lacking the drive and incision of Bellerin.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Mertesacker 7 out of 10 Exquisitely composed despite the threat of Ighalo’s pace, he read the game quite superbly to cut out Watford’s counters and showed outstanding timing in the tackle.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Gabriel 5 out of 10 The consensus may be that he was lucky to be on the pitch after his tackle on Deeney but it didn’t slow his forceful play. However he was far too tight to Ighalo for him to swivel and score the opener.
Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Gibbs 5 out of 10 Made impressive progress up and down the left flank, combining well with Alexis Sanchez and making Guediora look very ordinary defensively.
Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Elneny 5 out of 10 Found himself in goalscoring positions surprisingly often but did not show the incisive finishing that was a trademark of his at Basel. He did, however, bring neat, tidy passing to Arsenal’s midfield.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Coquelin 7 out of 10 Another Arsenal player to embrace the physical battles of the game he dived into tackles with glee but, unlike against Spurs, got the important ones spot on.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Campbell 7 out of 10 Yet again Arsenal’s best attacker was subbed off early to suit Wenger’s plans. Yes Ozil and Sanchez are more naturally talented but Campbell was perfoming well throughout his 68 minutes.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Ozil 4 out of 10 Three minutes of brilliance just before half-time was the sum of Ozil’s contributions. Whether it’s tiredness or not the playmaker has been nowhere near his early season form for some time now. He needs a break.
Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Sanchez 4 out of 10 Another game where he kept trying but nothing whatsoever went right. He kept shooting and crossing, trying to play himself out of the slump, but nothing was coming.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Giroud 5 out of 10 The illusion of a couple of goals against Hull was revealed to be exactly that today. He had a few chances, but rarely put himself about to create more and spurned those opportunities created for him.
Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Watford: Pantilimon 6 out of 10 For all Arsenal’s possession the reserve keeper had very little to do, a fortuitous deflection off his hand from Giroud’s effort his only major contribution.
Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Nyom 7 out of 10 Dealt superbly with a struggling Sanchez, hitting him with power time and time again and never allowing him to settle on the ball.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Prodl 7 out of 10 Was lucky to avoid giving away a penalty for a clumsy tackle on Ozil but dealt far more effectively with Giroud, manhandling his opponent robustly but fairly.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Cathcart 7 out of 10 When Arsenal’s pressure looked like paying off Cathcart came to the rescue, diving in superbly to intercept a pass for Giroud a few feet away from goal just minutes after Watford took the lead.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Ake 7 out of 10 A horrible day for the Chelsea loanee, though it wasn’t really his fault that team-mates kept leaving two Arsenal players up against him. Improved notably in the second half, keeping Sanchez locked up.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Behrami 7 out of 10 Tracked Arsenal’s midfield runners very effectively, invariably putting himself between Elneny and the ball when his opponent seemed set to shoot.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Watson 7 out of 10 Five tackles and a string of interceptions were the output from an excellent display by the FA Cup winner with Wigan, whose influence only grew as Watford protected their lead.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Capoue 7 out of 10 Time and again unleashed the pace of Ighalo with some stunning passes from deep to launch the counter. He could only look on in frustration as Watford failed to take them.
Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Guedioura 6 out of 10 A quiet game that seemed to be little more than him being bypassed by Gibbs until a tonking strike seemingly secured a semi-final spot for Watford. His only real input, but what a spectacular way to make your mark.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Ighalo 6 out of 10 A real source of frustration for Sanchez Flores in the first half, when his passing killed several great opportunities. When a real chance fell to him though he swivelled and finished in style.
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Arsenal 1 Watford 2 player ratings Deeney 8 out of 10 Dreadful in the first half, where he offered no support to Ake down the left, he was revitalized in the second as an out-and-out striker, adding two assists in a game-changing display.
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Arsenal take on Barcelona on Wednesday night, in the Champions League Last 16, as they hope to somehow overturn a two-goal deficit against the Spanish giants.
Wenger has been in charge at Arsenal since 1996.
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