Troy Deeney claims he received a phone call from Arsenal about a potential transfer after he was relegated with Watford – but the striker refused to apologise for a controversial remark
Troy Deeney has claimed he was on the cusp of an Arsenal switch after Watford’s drop from the top flight, but a past dig at the Gunners stood in the way.
The ex-Watford striker spent over a decade with the Hornets and is famed for his dramatic late goal against Leicester, which catapulted them into the Championship play-off final following a penalty save from former Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia.
Deeney appeared on the Filthy Fellas podcast to discuss his potential Gunners transfer in 2020. The 36-year-old said: “You know I was close to signing [for Arsenal].
“The year I got relegated. We lost at Arsenal, 3-2, me and Welbz (Danny Welbeck) scored, we could have probably beaten you, it was that COVID year, behind closed doors. We got relegated on that day, this is at Arsenal, and everyone was like, ‘Ahhh cajones!’ and whatever, ‘Shut your mouth man.'”
Deeney was recalling the 2017/18 season, when his post-match comments slamming Arsenal for lacking “cojones” after Watford’s 2-1 victory, ignited a long-standing feud with the Gunners faithful.
He continued: “Then, back in training, I’m just on the bike because my knee isn’t right. Someone from Arsenal calls, like, ‘Yo, would you go Arsenal? But what you have to do, you have to apologise for that comment’. I said I wasn’t going to apologise for that.”
The same summer also sparked interest from Spurs, with then-manager Jose Mourinho eyeing him as a back-up striker for Harry Kane. Deeney said: “I was driving to the south of France, it was still COVID times, you couldn’t really fly and all that.
“And my agent phones, ‘Watford want to get rid of you’. I’m literally like, ‘Me?!’. Bear in mind I’m driving in shorts because I can’t put trousers on, my knee’s massive. My knee is swelling and you want to talk about getting rid of me now?
“Bearing in mind the last four months I haven’t been getting paid! Because I said to them to keep it, make sure the staff get paid. So now I was taking everything personally. Anyway, I settled down for a week, came back and they’re like, ‘Will you speak to Mourinho at Spurs?
“If you remember, the season finished in July and then we were straight back in, it was a quick turnaround. Will I speak to Mourinho? Of course I will, it’s Jose, what do you mean? Like, who’s not going to speak to Mourinho.”
Deeney was more than willing to settle into a secondary role to Kane, expressing he would stand as the England striker’s “biggest cheerleader”. Yet, he added: “I’m nowhere near as good as Harry, nowhere near, will never say that. But there are certain things I do that he can’t do.
“But I thought I could do that [back-up] role, and they were in the Europa League or something like that so I was happy to play every Thursday, no problem. We had the chat, he said, ‘If I can’t get [Carlos Vinicus] over the line you’re next.’ Sweet.”
However, Tottenham ended up securing Vinicius on loan, which led to Deeney sticking with Watford for another season, aiding their promotion push, before moving to Birmingham City.
His stint at St Andrew’s lasted two years before he embarked on a player-coaching venture at Forest Green Rovers, but was later dismissed in January 2024.
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