For much of this season Troy Deeney has cut a frustrated figure as a lack of form and spells out of the team have taken their toll on the Watford skipper.

At times the 29-year-old has appeared to be a ticking time bomb with frustrations regularly coming to the surface and resulting in seven games missed through suspension.

What a difference a goal makes then. Having netted his first top flight goal from open play since April 2017 against Everton, Deeney followed up the strike with a delightful finish to down West Brom on Saturday.

The way Deeney clipped beyond Ben Foster first time spoke volumes of a man operating high on confidence. So too did the simple message of “life’s good” as he briefly breezed through the mixed zone at the Vic to present a young fan with a shirt.

Deeney’s last two outings have born the hallmarks of the player who has plundered over 100 goals for the club and he seems to be enjoying life under Javi Gracia.

The Spaniard has certainly put his trust in the forward and the manner in which he reacted to the single finger salute which followed his penalty against Chelsea last month spoke volumes.

Rather than lambast the Watford number nine, Gracia declared he is the best captain the club could have and has seen his faith repaid in recent weeks.

Deeney’s pair of winners against the Toffees and West Brom will go a long way towards keeping Watford in the top flight and he is once again the main man at the Vic.

His power struggle with Andre Gray, which was partly a product of Deeney’s own ill-discipline, did little to help either player as they looked for the run of games required to build up form. Such concerns now seem a thing of the past, however.

Under Gracia, Deeney has played all but one minute in the Premier League and scored three goals in the process to re-establish himself at the top of the club’s attacking food chain.

There is little to suggest he will be dislodged from that role between now and the end of the season, and, with Stefano Okaka back in the mix, Watford’s striking department is well stocked.

Deeney, whose goal on Saturday means he has scored on his 50th, 100th, 150th, 200th, 250th and 300th league outings for Watford, will be charged with scoring the goals to ensure Watford finish their survival mission.

The evidence of previous seasons would suggest he has the capability to do so and Deeney’s habit of scoring in gluts could prove vital in the run in.

Of his 10 goals last term, six came in a nine game spell, while the 2015/16 campaign saw Deeney enjoy runs of five in five and five in six en route to a haul of 15 for the season.

A similar run of form to finish the season would go a long way to Deeney and the Hornets finishing the campaign on a high.

Watford’s next match could provide the ideal opposition for Deeney to do exactly that as he comes up against an Arsenal side he has relished playing.

The former Walsall man has found the net in two of his last three clashes with Arsene Wenger’s men, roughing the Gunners up to inspire a 2-1 comeback at the Vic in October.

Arsenal’s surrender that night prompted Deeney to question the size of their cajones and they have done little to suggest his comments were wide of the mark in the months since.

Sunday’s hosts come into the game on the back of four straight defeats and Deeney, you sense, will fancy his chances of compounding their misery further.