Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hit out at Troy Deeney's "unjustified" comments that the Gunners "lacked cojones" on the back of their 2-1 defeat at Watford on Saturday.

The Watford captain's accusation has gone viral since he made the statement on BT Sport after the game, and defender Per Mertesacker has already said he paid no attention to it.

Deeney's stance is not an unfamiliar one with Arsenal routinely outfought by physical sides for more than a decade - and Chelsea legend Frank Lampard backed him up in an Evening Standard column yesterday.

But Wenger denied it character was an issue in his side, despite their dreadful away record this season - with only a point picked up on the road so far. 

“You can’t question our character,” he said. “People try and put us down, they always have. Those comments aren’t justified.

“We don’t listen to what people say - we try to analyse or own game.

“I love my players and I trust their strength of character to respond quickly. I know who my players really are.

“In the [previous] seven games we had six wins and one draw. Comments are part of the modern game.”