Watford signing Manuel Almunia admits frustration over his time at Arsenal.

Almunia last week joined Watford on a free transfer after eight years on the other side of the London Colney training ground fence at Arsenal.

"After Arsenal, I just wanted to go to a place where I feel wanted, respected and loved, and made to feel like a good goalkeeper again," Almunia told the Sunday Mirror. "That's what I have found at Watford.

"On my first day at ­Watford, the captain, John Eustace, came to me and said, 'We needed a good goalkeeper and we are lucky you are here'. That made me feel proud and good about ­myself.

"As a person, I always felt loved and respected at Arsenal, but as a player it is different. When you don't play you don't feel wanted or loved and your self-belief goes down.

"Once you stop being with the team every weekend and travelling with the team, people forget you."