Watford’s five-year stay in the Premier League is over after they were beaten by Arsenal in a thriller on the final day of the season.
Watford headed to the Emirates on the final day of a hugely difficult season needing to better Aston Villa’s result at West Ham, with a win for their relegation rivals at London Stadium, meaning they would also have to triumph – but by two goals more.
The Hornets – who sat bottom of the table with only one win in 15 games when Nigel Pearson was appointed to replace Quique Sanchez Flores in December – had initially moved six points clear of the bottom three following successive home victories over Norwich and Newcastle earlier this month.
However, things quickly unravelled again for Watford, who made the surprising decision to dismiss Pearson following a costly 3-1 loss at West Ham and disagreement with owner Gino Pozzo.
And caretaker manager Mullins could only watch on as his side suffered the worst possible start, conceding a penalty inside 34 seconds as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck the first blow of the afternoon.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors as Aubameyang tuned provider as Kieran Tierney scored his first goal for the Gunners on 33 minutes, before the Arsenal captain acrobatically scored his second and Arsenal’s third to put the hosts 3-0 up.
Troy Deeney did provide a glimmer of hope after the Watford skipper converted a penalty on 43 minutes – the fifth that David Luiz has conceded this season – as they went in 3-1 down at the break.
Danny Welbeck cut Arsenal’s lead to 3-2 with 66 minutes on the clock, as Arsenal looked like they were about let a three-goal lead slip.
Bournemouth were also relegated from the Premier League despite beating Everton.
The Cherries went into the final day with a mountain to climb after languishing in the lower reaches of the Premier League for much of the season.
They sat three points from safety and were reliant on other results going their way to keep their place at the top table.