Watford striker Troy Deeney called Arsenal s mentality and spirit into question after scoring in a 2-1 victory over Arsene Wenger s side in the Premier League on Saturday.
Arsenal took a 1-0 first-half lead thanks to Per Mertesacker s 39th-minute header, but Watford turned the tables in the second period and claimed victory through substitute Deeney s 71st-minute penalty and Tom Cleverley s 92nd-minute winner.
Wenger blamed the defeat on what he called a "scandalous" decision to award a penalty for Hector Bellerin s collision with Watford s Brazilian forward Richarlison, but Deeney said he should focus on the performance of his own players instead.
"I ve heard Wenger s already saying the penalty is the reason they lost,” Deeney told BT Sport. “Well, I m not going to be one to tell Mr Wenger about himself, but there s a reason they lost and it wasn t because of one penalty.
"Whenever I play against Arsenal, I ll go up and think, Let me whack the first one and see who wants it .
"I came on today and jumped up with (Per) Mertesacker. I didn t even have to jump, actually. I nodded it down, the crowd got up - yeah we ve got somebody who can win it - and they all just backed off.
"For me as a player, I just think, Happy days . That s my strength. If you re going to let me do my strength against you, you re going to have a tough afternoon."
The result lifted Watford to fourth in the Premier League, while Arsenal fell to sixth.
