Paul Merson thinks Arsenal could move for Watford striker Troy Deeney

Paul Merson thinks Troy Deeney would be an excellent signing for Arsenal. The 27-year-old striker has been linked with a move to the Emirates in the January transfer window and Merson believes he is well suited to the Gunners' style of play.

The former Arsenal hero, 47, said he can understand why Arsene Wenger would be interested in the Watford star. "I can see the Troy Deeney one happening, I think he is a good footballer and works very hard for the team, so that does not shock me, that one," he told Sky Sports. "He is a decent player, has got a very good football brain, never moans, and gets on with it.

"When you go and play for this Arsenal team, you need to have a good football brain and when I watch him play, that is what he has. I think a lot of people would be sitting there thinking: 'Why him?' But I can see that."

Watford have been among the surprise packages of the Premier League season and currently occupy ninth position in the table. Deeney has been one of the Hornets's star players, but Merson thinks it would be difficult for him to resist the allure of Arsenal.

"You would be playing for one of the top teams in the world of football, they are in the Champions League, are in with a chance of winning the Premier League," the ex-Arsenal star said. "What Watford are doing is pulling up trees, but do you want to play for a team for the rest of your career who might stay up or might not stay up?"

Meanwhile, Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores recently said it was "completely impossible" that the club sells Deeney and team-mate Odion Ighalo during the current window.

"I think it's completely impossible [Ighalo or Deeney leave the club in January]. Our target like a team is very clear. The confidence of these players is amazing. They are completely confident in themselves," he said as quoted by The Guardian. "They are not in a hurry or a rush to leave Watford. They're happy at Watford. It's important to value these kinds of things – how important it is to be happy in a place."