Watford - 1 Arsenal - 2:Arsenal continue to make light of Thierry Henry's absence, although they left it late before beating a stubborn Watford last evening.

Poor finishing and good goalkeeping by Ben Foster looked to have denied Arsene Wenger's team before Robin van Persie scored to extend an unbeaten run to seven games without their captain and move them into third place in the table.

A neat pass by the substitute Theo Walcott had set up Van Persie, although the Dutchman still had considerable work to do before beating Foster, who had made three strong second-half saves and a couple before the interval. Late goals are becoming a speciality for Arsenal, who scored twice towards the end against Blackburn on Saturday and contrived a last-gasp win at Wigan.

It was not only Foster's goalkeeping that made life tough for Arsenal, with Watford's relentless pressing and physical and direct approach troubling their more vaunted opponents.

Arsenal were hardly at their best, but Watford rarely looked like scoring after Tommy Smith equalised and the visitors deserved to win. That said, it was possible to feel a little sorry for the hosts, who would have risen off the bottom if they had held on for a draw.

There was plenty of aggression from Watford and they caused periodic difficulties for Arsenal. They looked to turn their opponents at every opportunity, whether down the flanks or through the middle, and could have amplified the problems for Arsenal with greater quality of delivery or sharpness of shot.

The forcefulness and tempo of Watford's approach meant Arsenal's flowing football was seen only in spurts, but the visitors did make openings, with Van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor usually involved. They ought to have gone ahead inside four minutes but Van Persie shot when a cross would have left Fabregas with a simple chance.

There was an ebb and flow to the game as Watford looked to attack, but it was no great surprise when Arsenal went ahead. Shortly before the goal the lively Van Persie had sent a shot narrowly wide and set up Fabregas for an effort which Foster saved, and it was Van Persie's presence at the far post which won the corner from which Arsenal scored.

Corners have not traditionally been a great source of goals for Wenger's side but this one looked to have been practised. Tomas Rosicky's set-piece was flicked on by Kolo Toure. The ball eluded Gavin Mahon and was headed in at the far post by Gilberto Silva. It was the midfielder's eighth goal of the season.

It is an indication of the way Gilberto has risen to the challenge of taking the captaincy in Henry's absence.

But Watford refused to buckle and they swiftly equalised. Toure is not often beaten in a duel but Hameur Bouazza got the better of him and the striker's cross deflected off Justin Hoyte into the path of Smith, who steered a low shot beyond Jens Lehmann.

Guardian Service