Do Arsenal still have no cojones? Troy Deeney quizzed on Gunners after woeful performance in Aston Villa defeat

Do Arsenal still lack cojones?

According to Troy Deeney they didn’t have any cojones when Watford beat the Gunners in 2017, coming back from one goal down to beat Arsene Wenger’s side 2-1 at Vicarage Road.

But there have been many changes since that famous day, with Wenger no longer manager and the north Londoners actually on their second boss of the post-Wenger period.

AFP or licensors

Unai Emery has been and gone and Mikel Arteta, the Spanish former Arsenal midfielder, is currently in the dugout charged with returning the Gunners to their former glories.

It’s been a mixed time for Pep Guardiola’s former assistant, who won the FA Cup in his first season as a manager but also suffered an embarrassing Europa League exit at the hands of Olympiakos.

And Arsenal put in perhaps the worst performance of Arteta’s nearly year-long reign on Sunday as Aston Villa outplayed them at the Emirates to record a stunning 3-0 win.

Ollie Watkins netted a second half brace after Bukayo Saka’s own goal opened the scoring on the 25-minute mark, and Villa were well worth their win having also seen another goal disallowed after a VAR review.

So why did Aston Villa so easily beat the Gunners on Sunday? Was it because they still lack cojones?

Well that exact question was put to Deeney during a talkSPORT Instagram Q&A on Monday – but what was his answer?

“I don’t really think after Sunday’s performance that’s the question to be asking me,” replied Deeney. “But I thought in that one incident when they played us they bottled it.

“That’s what I thought, but overall they’re still a good team”

Good answer there, Troy.

While the Watford striker isn’t most the popular figure among Arsenal fans given his past criticism, his eldest son is actually a Gooner.

And Deeney revealed on Monday how his son, Myles, reacted when he gave him a signed Dele Alli shirt as a gift.

“My oldest is an Arsenal fan. He’s 11 and I don’t know (how it came about),” began Deeney. Someone bought him a kit, just a random kit, and he just kind of stuck with it and continued it.

“I got him a signed Dele Alli shirt maybe three or four years ago. It said ‘To Myles, all the best’. I gave it to him and he was like, ‘I’m not touching that’!

“I was like ‘it’s Dele Alli’s, it’s personalised’ and he was like ‘no, it’s Tottenham’.”

Getty Images – Getty

Woods asked: “Have you auctioned it out to someone else called Myles?”

Deeney replied: “No, because I spell it M-Y-L-E-S. So it’s even awkward as well and I’ve just had to leave it in the house.”

Asked about the dislike Arsenal fans seem to have of him, Deeney added: “I just get under people’s skin. I don’t know how I do that but I do for some reason.”