Tom Cleverley credits Marco Silva and Troy Deeney with inspiring Watford’s stunning comeback victory against Arsenal.

The Hornets went behind to Per Mertesacker’s first half header, before Deeney came from the bench to level from the spot and Cleverley struck a dramatic injury time winner.

Watford were a different side after the half-time interval and Cleverley revealed Silva’s team talk during the break lifted the home side.

“The change from the first half to the second half is down to two people today,” Cleverley explained.

“The manager, who really got stuck into us and said we needed to believe in ourselves, and Troy, who came on and changed the game.

“That shows the spirit we have. Troy has not been playing much but he has come on and he has changed the game. It shows the determination of everyone to get into the team.”

Cleverley has been an essential cog of Silva’s Watford this term, forming a dynamic midfield partnership with Abdoulaye Doucoure.

His performances, which centre of combative tackling and efficient use of the ball, often go unnoticed, but he came to the fore at the death with a well-taken winner.

It was the 28-year-old’s first goal since December 2015 and he was understandably delighted to have sealed Watford’s first home win under Silva.

“It’s been a long wait since my last goal, but when you have moments like that in football it is worth the wait, not just for me personally,” he said.

“It fell really nicely to me and I thought with people lunging in that I had to go high and I have managed to stick it in the roof of the net.

“It is a bit of a blur now, but it was a good finish and there was a lot of emotion in the celebration.”

The goal brought euphoric celebrations around Vicarage Road, and the positivity around the club could not be in starker contrast to the toxic atmosphere seen under Walter Mazzarri last term.

Cleverley says the mood among supporters is mirrored in the Watford squad and belief is helping them find an extra gear – especially late on in games, with Watford salvaging points in the 90th minute or later on four occasions.

He said: “We have gained eight points in the last minute of games and that is three games on the trot [where we have scored late on].

“It comes from a mixture of belief, how fit we are and that little bit of luck. We deserved it and we have a really good team spirit to fight until the end.”