Etienne Capoue has helped Watford tame the Premier League beast but now has more than survival in his sights.

Capoue has seen many changes since joining from Tottenham in 2015 for a then club-record £6.3million.

The France international arrived at a side that had just been promoted and with few giving them much of a chance of competing in the Premier League.

Things have not run smoothly. Their previous managers, Quique Sanchez Flores and Walter Mazzarri, left after one campaign.

Now Marco Silva is at the helm — the club’s eighth coach in five years — but Capoue can feel the momentum building at Vicarage Road.

He said: “It was all about staying up when I joined because we arrived in the lion’s cage — the Premier League. It was difficult.

“We didn’t know how we’d do that first season. We set up more defensively, it was normal.

“Things have changed since then. We are more attacking. Against Liverpool we scored three goals, we scored two at West Brom.

“We have changed coach every year but each coach has the same ambition. We push each other, that is the recipe to reach a good position.

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“We don’t fear the lion any more. The first year was about surviving, now we think about the top 10.”

More than a decade ago, Watford were in severe financial difficulty and in 2005 were two points away from being relegated to League One.

Significant investment following the takeover by the Pozzo family in 2012 has played a major role in their fortunes improving.

Capoue’s transfer fee appears small change now compared to the £13m spent on Richarlison and the £18.5m invested in record-buy Andre Gray this summer.

They take on Arsenal on Saturday sitting in eighth position in the table, just one point behind Arsene Wenger’s men.

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For Capoue, this campaign could be his most memorable. He said: “If we arrive in the top 10, we achieve a top thing. It would be like a trophy. For a club like Watford to get in the top 10 is crazy.”

The 29-year-old will not need much motivating for the visit of Arsenal. He may have spent only two years at Spurs but the desire to get the better of his former club’s rivals has never left him. “From the first day I arrived at Tottenham they told me Arsenal is the enemy,” he said.

“Do I want to beat them as much as ever? Yes. It’s in my blood now.”

The last time Watford played at home, they were beaten 6-0 by Manchester City.

“It was the best football I have seen here since I arrived in the UK,” said Capoue. “Before that it was Liverpool when Luis Suarez was there, but this was a different level.”