Arteta makes Arsenal penalty taker decision after Aubameyang apology

Mikel Arteta has confirmed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will stay on spot-kick duties after his miss against Watford.

The Gunners were awarded a penalty in the first half at 0-0 after Danny Rose fouled Alexandre Lacazette in the area.

The Gabon international stepped up to take it but his effort was saved by Ben Foster as the Watford keeper gathered the rebound.

It's Aubameyang's second successive miss from 12 yards as Emiliano Martinez denied him from the spot when Arsenal beat Aston Villa a fortnight ago - although the forward did put home the rebound on that occasion.

But Arteta insists he will continue to be Arsenal's penalty kick taker moving forward as he vows to help his player get through this rough patch.

Should Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stay on spot-kick duties? Comment below

The Spaniard said: "He will stay on penalties if he is happy to do so.

"You will miss if you take penalties, that is part of your career and the job and we will try to help him."

It was an afternoon to forget for Aubameyang where it seemed like nothing went right for him, no matter how hard he tried.

He wasted a handful of opportunities to extend Arsenal's 1-0 lead and his bad luck was summed up when he had a goal ruled out for offside in the second half.

Aubamyeang tapped home the Norwegian's low drive but had drifted beyond the last defender as the goal was rightly chopped off.

Frustratingly for Arsenal, Odegaard's shot was goal bound meaning Aubameyang could have just got out of the way of the effort.

And he knew he had made a mistake as he raised his hand to apologise to his teammates.

It was a hard-fought victory for Arsenal, but it's another three points and a clean sheet to extend their unbeaten run.

Aubameyang might have been off the boil, but there were a few bright spots including Ainsley Maitland-Niles who came into the side.

The Englishman impressed in the middle of the park in place of the injured Thomas Partey.

And Arteta claims he looks a completely different player this season as he hailed his impact against Claudio Ranieri's men.

He added: "I've seen a different player in terms of his urgency, his commitment.

"We made a decision that was clear with what I was seeing because he was going to be useful. He has a huge talent and he is versatile to play in almost any position on the pitch.

"Today we made use of him to do what he had to do in the game which was really important."