Roberto Pereyra set to make Watford debut against Arsenal after receiving work permit

Watford will have club-record signing Roberto Pereyra available for their Premier League clash against Arsenal on Saturday 27 August. The Argentine attacking midfielder signed a five-year deal last week after completing a £13m ($17.1m) switch from Juventus, but did not play any part in the recent 2-1 home defeat by Chelsea having not yet secured the necessary work permit.

However, that issue has now been resolved and Pereyra will be in contention to make his debut as the Gunners visit Vicarage Road this weekend. He is not included in the squad for Tuesday night's EFL Cup second-round tie against League One promotion hopefuls Gillingham, although fellow newcomer and centre-back Younes Kaboul has been named among the substitutes.

Confirming the good news, Watford announced via their official Twitter account: "Roberto Pereyra has received his work permit and is available for Watford's game with Arsenal on Saturday."

Watford, who finished 13th last season in their first top-flight campaign for eight years, have been busy in the transfer market during their first summer window under new boss Walter Mazzarri. Pereyra and Kaboul have joined Isaac Success, Christian Kabasele, Brice Dja Djedje, Juan Camilo Zuniga and Jerome Sinclair in moving to Hertfordshire. An equally extensive list of departures features the likes of Miguel Layun, Jose Manuel Jurado and Almen Abdi, while Mario Suarez, Steven Berghuis and Obbi Oulare have all been shipped out on loan following the departure of Quique Sanchez Flores.

The Hornets were unlucky not to win on the opening day at Southampton despite going down to 10 men thanks to Ben Watson's late foul on Shane Long, but Etienne Capoue's early strike was cancelled out by a second-half volley from Saints debutant Nathan Redmond in a 1-1 stalemate.

Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Capoue later doubled his tally in a yellow shirt to give Watford the lead over a Chelsea side managed by Mazzarri's long-time rival Antonio Conte, but again they could not hold on as strike duo Michy Batshuayi and Diego Costa both netted inside the last 10 minutes. The Spaniard, however, was incredibly fortunate for the second week in succession not to be sent off for an apparent act of simulation that probably should have merited a second yellow card. After Arsenal, the fixture list throws up meetings with West Ham, Manchester United and newly-promoted Burnley before October.