Former Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has revealed that he regrets the way he parted company with the Gunners.

Almunia signed for Watford this summer, ending an eight-year spell at Arsenal.

The Spanish stopper says that things might have been different if he had not played injured in a disastrous 3-2 home defeat to West Brom that effectively ended his playing time at the Emirates.

Almunia told The Mirror: "I have big regrets about that game because maybe if I had stopped playing I would have played many more games for ­Arsenal.

"It was so, so hard to cope with. One day you are number one and ­everybody wants you, and the next day you disappear. I am quite a ­sensitive person and I am not good in the bad moments.

"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. That's what I have found at Watford."

Almunia played in a Champions League final and collected an FA Cup winners medal during his time at Arsenal.