Posted at 1400 BST on 13/10/17.
A solitary point separates this pair and the Gunners better be on full alert as the lively Hornets look capable of springing a surprise and scuppering an obvious afternoon accumulator for punters involving them Chelsea, Manchester City and Spurs.
Marco Silva’s side are in the midst of their best ever Premier League start with a display of both skill and commitment to the cause as a number of relative unknowns in their ranks really start to shine under the Portuguese.
Richarlison, Andre Carillo and Abdoulaye Doucoure to name just a trio have been outstanding while there is a real determination in the ranks that has seen them score three goals in the 90th minute and beyond to help boost their points tally.
It is safe to say we can draw a line through a 6-0 home defeat to an irresistible Manchester City as Silva’s men have since shown plenty of character to record a win and a draw away from Vicarage Road and there is no obvious reason why they should be overly fearful when Arsenal come calling.
Arsene Wenger’s outfit have won six of their last seven without really hitting top gear and have the look of a team that is gradually moving towards something like their best form.
Rumours still swirl over the long-term futures of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez but they look more like a consistent unit than at any time in recent months as they remarkably go in search of a first Premier League goal away from the Emirates this season.
Petr Cech has kept four clean sheets on the trot as the unit in front of him solidifies after their hammering at Anfield but Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi will both be missing from the heart of the defence and it looks an area that the home side are capable of exposing.
I am sure there will be plenty of punters keen to side with the progressive hosts in something like the Double Chance market but I have a feeling Arsenal will extend their excellent run and claim a maximum return.
David John's prediction: Watford 1-2 Arsenal - Sky Bet odds: 7/1
Sean Dyche gets my vote for any managerial awards up for grabs through seven games as his adaptable Claret artisans have started the season in tremendous style.
They may not have the flash world stars of some of their rivals but get full marks for team spirit and work ethic that has in turn led to a side with far greater confidence and belief in their own ability - just look at the wonderful goal to sink Everton before the international break.
The strange irony of it all is an excellent current away record after all last season’s anguish and it is up to Dyche to start building up the points at Turf Moor where they have registered a lone, scrambling victory over Crystal Palace and just one goal.
There is not much between them and the Hammers in the betting with that latter point in mind as Slaven Bilic endures anything but the reasonably serene progress so far experienced by his opposite number.
A last-gasp winner against Swansea may well have saved his skin but the Croat’s future still teeters on a knife-edge despite backing from the board for the umpteenth time.
He has been able to focus more on the attacking part of his strategy over the last fortnight with Marko Anautovic and a fit-again Manuel Lanzini available for selection but the flaky nature of West Ham still makes it so hard to predict what you will get from them from one week to the next.
There is a high chance both teams will score and that is represented by an odds-on quote while a stalemate gets my vote with just about enough conviction to suggest a bet at the price.
David John's prediction: Burnley 1-1 West Ham - Sky Bet odds: 9/2
Roy Hodgson has been in some dark places during his lengthy managerial career (England v Iceland in case you'd forgotten...) but the doom and gloom currently hanging over Selhurst Park is going to take some shifting.
A beastly run of Premier League fixtures rolls on to hosting the champions and it would not be the biggest shock in the world to see them eased to a double-figure quote come kick-off as the Eagles attempt to pull a rabbit out of the hat in a bid to stop the rot.
Their record stands at seven straight defeats in the top flight with no goals scored as back-to-back thrashings in Manchester hardly suggested any corners are imminently to be turned.
One slight glimmer is a return to full training for Wilfried Zaha but it is likely the slippery wing wizard will be deployed sparingly after a spell on the sidelines with a knee issue that stretches right back to the opening day of the season.
Christian Benteke and Connor Wickham are both unavailable so where that first Premier League goal is going to come from is not clear while their best player so far, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, is not allowed to face his parent club.
Throw in a record of one win from eight recent attempts at home against Chelsea with the latter not exactly in a charitable mood having been outplayed by Manchester City at Stamford Bridge and even Hodgson putting his most positive spin on the situation seems like an exercise in futility.
Antonio Conte has a couple of personnel issues to overcome with N’Golo Kante out and Alvaro Morata struggling to make the line-up but surely this will be little more than a relatively comfortable afternoon to leave Palace even deeper in the mire.
David John's prediction: Crystal Palace 0-2 Chelsea - Sky Bet odds: 5/1
The gap widening even further between the top and middle section of the Premier League is highlighted by a whopping 20/1 quote for Stoke City ahead of their trip to the Etihad Stadium - a fixture in which the Potters actually held their hosts to a very creditable 0-0 draw as recently as last March.
They have in fact managed to shut out Pep Guardiola’s side in three of their last six meetings but the flip-side is them conceding four times on each of the other three occasions so it is certainly a roll of the dice in terms of what we can expect from Mark Hughes and his men.
One surefire conclusion we can draw is that City are really starting to maximise their potential and have looked head and shoulders above the vast majority of their rivals on a winning streak that now stretches to eight games in all competitions.
Striker Gabriel Jesus regained his scoring touch for Brazil in midweek which is very good news with Sergio Aguero back in light training but not available following his car accident last month.
Keeping Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane and David Silva at bay is not easy at the best of times but Hughes heads north without captain Ryan Shawcross while his midfield could be constantly over-run as both Darren Fletcher and Joe Allen are among the walking wounded following international duty.
Stoke’s awkward style has appealed to me at times in this fixture but City are in the mood at the moment to severely punish every team that stands in their way and could be in a position to really turn on the style and open up a gap at the summit depending on what happens earlier at Anfield.
David John's prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Stoke - Sky Bet odds: 6/1
The Swans look a rather dubious proposition in their bid to justify favouritism at the Liberty Stadium with a home record this season that reads three straight defeats and just one goal scored.
Manager Paul Clement has received plenty of plaudits since taking over in south Wales for his tactical acumen but his plans have not been successful and drastic half-time tinkering in the crushing late 2-1 loss to Watford suggests he is still trying to figure what is or isn’t going to work.
The international break came just at the right time to perhaps draw a line under the opening section of the campaign and expectations will be high they can at last deliver against a newly-promoted rival.
The Terriers' sharp start has rather fizzled out and they were on the wrong end of a painful lesson last time at the John Smith’s Stadium when a couple of early errors were punished as Tottenham romped to a 4-0 victory.
This is much more the right level for manager David Wagner with a good chance to get back in the groove and at the very least take something from a fixture while the hosts still search for something to give them a kick-start.
Clement could be tempted to unleash both Tammy Abraham and Wilfried Bony in a bid to spark some positive activity in front of goal but the visitors are very solid operators in general at the back with four clean sheets in the book already.
I’d expect Alfie Mawson and Federico Fernandez to be bang on point in the heart of the home defence and although striker Steve Mounie is in contention to make a comeback for the visitors, this screams a low-scoring encounter.
David John's prediction: Swansea 0-1 Huddersfield - Sky Bet odds: 7/1
We all still hold our breath waiting for Spurs to break their Premier League duck at Wembley and they won’t get a much better chance of finally picking up a victory and ending this ridiculous hoodoo hanging over them.
A record-breaking domestic crowd is expected to cheer them on as an imperious Harry Kane leads the line with just about everything he directs toward the goal seeming to find the back of the net.
Arguably the most coveted player in the world currently, he has 43 goals in 37 appearances this year with 15 in his last 10 for club and country as I get the real impression even one bobbling in off a knee or shin would finally open the floodgates for Spurs at Wembley.
Mauricio Pochettino has the ideal temperament to get his team in the right frame of mind and a performance somewhere in the region of 80% of those away from home would surely suffice.
That said, there are going to be some very glum faces in west London if they fail again to land odds of around 1/5 against a team battling to find some impetus with just one top-flight victory this season and stuck second bottom in the standings.
It has been very frustrating for manager Eddie Howe to sit and watch his side create plenty of chances yet fail to convert and perhaps veteran poacher Jermain Defoe’s powers are now starting to decline.
The news elsewhere for Howe is not great after Josh King tweaked a hamstring on duty for Norway but Callum Wilson is not far away from a return after two horrendous knee injuries and is looking fit and sharp by all reports having found the target in a reserve fixture.
He could be an interesting option from the bench but the Cherries are not really a side who set-up to make things awkward for a better standard of opponent so as long as the distraction of a trip to Real Madrid on Tuesday is not too great, then Spurs can at last collect those three precious home points.
David John's prediction: Tottenham 2-0 Bournemouth - Sky Bet odds - 6/1
One of the marquee fixtures of any Premier League season should again make for compelling viewing despite last season’s dire draw at Anfield with Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho at the time still getting to know his new employers.
He took a fair amount of stick for his negative policy in the game almost a calendar year ago but exited Merseyside having importantly not lost and the return trip this time sees him in control of a much slicker operation.
Granted this will be their first showdown against a recognised top-six outfit but it is hard to quibble with Mourinho’s assessment that "we are better" than 12 months ago having since snaffled two pieces of silverware and started the new top-flight campaign with verve and purpose.
His opposite number Jurgen Klopp continues to watch his own side dominate rivals but fail to turn that into something resembling a consistent string of victories with just one nail-biting 3-2 triumph over Leicester in their last seven outings in all competitions.
Midfielder Emre Can turned stats boffin in a recent interview to reveal they have had 120 shots during that period but scored just eight goals while being punished time after time at the other end in a record that now boasts just a brace of clean sheets since the opening day on August 12.
That is the sort of form that will leave them flailing outside of the top six regardless so Klopp has some work to do one way or another - either score four times every game or seriously shape up at the back.
The former option has taken a fairly hefty hit with Sadio Mane ruled out for around six weeks while any serious faith in the Liverpool defence remains thin on the ground.
Joel Matip was perhaps unfortunate with the ricochet last time as Newcastle drew level on Tyneside but allowing Joselu into that position in the first place would have seen him taken to task by any Sunday league coach.
The gap between the pair could be 10 points come early Saturday afternoon and I fancy that will be the case with the visitors a tempting price of 9/5.
Brazilian whizz Philippe Coutinho is improving rapidly by the week and is a potent threat for the hosts but Mourinho has enough in-form firepower of his own this time to make the difference and secure all three points from a first serious test of his side's title credentials.
David John's prediction: Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United - Sky Bet odds: 17/2
2pts Manchester United to beat Liverpool at 9/5
1pt Burnley and West Ham to draw at 23/10
1pt under 1.5 total goals in Swansea v Huddersfield at 43/25
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Posted at 0700 BST on 13/10/17.