Troy Deeney finally explains infamous 'cojones' jibe at Arsenal as he reveals how hit TV show The Sopranos influenced dig at Arsene Wenger's Gunners in 2017

In 2017, Deeney inspired Watford to a 2-1 win over Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side at Vicarage Road. The striker scored a penalty as the Hornets came from behind to win the game, and Deeney claimed after the game that Arsenal did not have the "cojones" required to win the game.

Now a pundit, the ex-Watford hero has explained that the comment was a sudden turn of phrase, although he says it stemmed from his grandfather's love of The Sopranos, one of the all-time great television dramas, centred around mob boss Tony Soprano.

But he has now admitted that in a twist of fate, he is now living with four Arsenal fans - his wife, and three of his four children.

Deeney told the Seaman Says podcast via Betway: "My granddad, who passed away, was a massive Sopranos fan. Whenever I used to go through a bad patch in my personal life, I used to just watch The Sopranos because that's what I'd do with him.

"We played Arsenal in the evening and I was in the hotel at the Grove all day just watching The Sopranos. BT Sport pulled me in and said: 'Troy, you need to get on there.' They asked a question about if I felt Arsenal were losing it, and I was going to say they had no b*llocks. Then I was like: 'Oh, I can't say that on BT,' and then all I remembered was ‘cojones’ from The Sopranos, and it just came out.

"I've never once said that word before or after, I just came out with cojones. I think Martin Keown was in the room as well, and obviously he loves Arsenal to death and that's what he kind of based his game on, being tough and physical. So I think it hit him quite hard. Then I just had this three-week rant of, like, Paul Merson coming after me.

"He said: 'He’s a player, he can’t say that,' but then the week after Merse would say that Arsenal collapsed, bottled or whatever. He just used a different word, but he said exactly the same. I think God's played a trick on me, because my wife is an Arsenal fan, three of my four kids are Arsenal fans, so I’ve basically got Arsenal Fan TV living with me. Whenever they lose it's like it's not their fault, it was a ref decision, or it was this or that.

"I went to the first Arsenal game of the season against Wolves and certain people come and ask: 'Do you think we'll do it this year?' You have good conversations. Then there are some other guys, about 50, like: 'So have we got cojones this year?' You’ve still not won anything! Why me? I just felt at that time, even though it probably wasn't the right word that I would use, it was indicative of who they were."

Arsenal have transformed in recent seasons and are now regularly fighting at the top-end of the Premier League. They currently sit fourth, having beaten Wolves and Aston Villa and drawn with Brighton.