Former Gunner Martin Keown says that Arsenal have to respond following Troy Deeney’s ‘cojone’ comments.

Deeney claimed that Arsenal don’t have the ‘cojones’ to go up against physical opposition following his Watford side’s 2-1 win over the Gunners on Saturday. And Keown believes that Arsene Wenger’s side needs to respond after being ‘called out’ by the striker.

“Arsenal have been called out by Troy Deeney. Now they have to respond,” said the former centre-back wrote for the Daily Mail.

“Arsene Wenger said he was hurt by Deeney’s comments and they will become the elephant in the room if they are not addressed.

“Arsenal must be careful not to go overboard but if I was still playing, I would be really fired up for the next time I faced Deeney. 

“Of course, there will be players like Deeney that Arsenal will face every week and they need to make sure they deal with those players.

“It’s rare that an opponent gives you such an insight into your flaws. The suggestion was that there is no anger, no response when Arsenal concede a goal.

“If you bump into certain Arsenal players, they will let you win the ball.

“Arsenal need to address these concerns… but they also have to make sure they are technically brilliant when they face sides with lesser ability.

“Otherwise, those teams will try to bully them.”

The good thing about Deeney’s harsh comments is that they’ve sort of taken the spotlight off how embarrassing the defeat to the Hornets actually was.

He wasn’t wrong either. Slightly ill-advised in making the comment but not incorrect.

troy deeney petr cech
WATFORD, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 14: Troy Deeney of Watford celebrates as he scores their first and equalising goal from the penalty spot as Petr Cech of Arsenal look dejected during the Premier League match between Watford and Arsenal at Vicarage Road on October 14, 2017 in Watford, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

As Keown says, Arsenal do need to address these concerns because if teams didn’t already use this tactic to get through us, they’re sure as hell going to now!

Deeney is not special. He’s just a well-built, typical Premier League player and the Gunners are going to come up against even bigger, meaner opposition than him. Although you’d think they know that by now.

Is it because most of them only have to fart and they’ve pulled a hamstring? Are they genuinely scared of tackles? Or can they just not be bothered to put their bodies on the line? I fear that the latter is true. Either way, it needs to be addressed.