Marco Silva issues word of warning to Troy Deeney after Arsenal criticism

Jack Wilshere has hit back at Troy Deeney's comments about Arsenal players lacking "cojones" to battle it out during hard games.

'Troy Deeney knows my opinion on this, my opinion will stay between me and him, ' said Silva.

The 25-year-old is quoted by The Telegraph as saying: "As a player, if your attitude is questioned, it's terrible".

Silva added: "For my players we must look inside and not outside and respect ourselves, as well".

"People try to put us down, they always have".

Deeney came off the bench late on against Arsenal and made a crucial contribution to earn Watford yet another three points to keep them in the Champions League places. "We have a game tomorrow and another big game at the weekend and we have seen with this team that the players can bounce back quick - and we will do that", he explained. "Whenever I play against Arsenal, I'll go up and think "let me whack the first one and see who wants it", Deeney said. I don't think the comments were justified.

And Wilshere played a pivotal role in setting up the victor against Red Star Belgrade on Thursday night - a result that the midfielder claims is proof of the team's character.

Wenger admitted that Deeney's words are a part of the modern game but threw his trust and support behind his players.

"It's interesting, because the body language of one or two players has been hard to say the least".