Mesut Ozil v Etienne Capoue: The key battle in Watford v Arsenal

Arsenal make the 18-mile trip to Watford on Saturday, aiming to maintain the momentum gained from their 3-0 win over Manchester United prior to the international break. But at the heart of this match lies an intriguing midfield tussle between two in-form players: Mesut Ozil and Etienne Capoue.

Arsenal will look to Ozil to resume his regular task of pulling his side's creative strings - something he's been especially effective at so far this season.

At times maligned for a seemingly casual approach, the German is currently the Premier League's most lethal provider from open play. His 28 chances created rank joint-highest in the English top flight, alongside Chelsea's Eden Hazard, and no player gets near his return of creating a chance every 21 minutes.

With Ozil in possession, Arsenal have come to expect him to create over four chances per game from open play, which is considerably more than any other Premier League player. To put that production in context, Hazard and Southampton's Dusan Tadic are the only two players averaging more than three chances per 90 minutes in the entire division.

Furthermore, with set-piece chances included, Ozil is presently creating more often than any player in Europe's top five divisions.

Clearly, suppressing this wave of production will be a tough ask, but Capoue and Watford have reason to be confident of at least reducing his influence.

The Hornets have been particularly resilient at Vicarage Road this season, conceding just 10 shots on target in four home games, a record only one Premier League side can better. Impressively, they have also conceded just one goal in the six hours of football played on home soil, the league's best return.

Capoue has been a key factor in this defensive success, quietly finding form since his summer move from Tottenham. He leads his team with an industrious approach, already covering 91 kilometres this season, a distance only five Premier League players can better.

Capoue has also been one of the Premier League's busiest players. His constant hassling and harrying in the defensive third has helped his new side stifle opposing attackers, and this work-rate can be emphasised by collating a number of defensive actions together. Combining tackles, interceptions, fouls, recoveries, clearances and duels, only one Premier League player has recorded more of these defensive actions across the season.

Capoue's return leads all midfielders and is all the more commendable given the goals conceded by the teams of these other players.

The Frenchman has already come up against Everton's Ross Barkley, Manchester City's David Silva and Swansea's Gylfi Sigurdsson this season, and his relentless approach has fared relatively well. Combined, that trio have created 32 chances from open play, but each found the going tougher against Watford, creating just three chances all together.

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However, ominously for Watford, Arsenal go into this game having rediscovered a clinical edge in domestic football, scoring eight goals in their past two games.

The Gunners also boast an unblemished record in this Premier League fixture, winning all four previous clashes.

Capoue's ability to patrol the space in front of Watford's back four and disrupt Ozil will have a large bearing on whether that streak continues. 

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