Watford's new head coach Quique Sanchez Flores says he has extra motivation to beat Arsenal this weekend because of his record against Gunners' boss Unai Emery.

This Sunday's clash will be the eighth time the two have met head-to-head, with the Hornets' boss boasting the far better results.

From those games, Sanchez Flores has won three, while Emery has claimed just one victory, with the other three matches ending in draws.

Speaking ahead of the game, the Watford boss said he was motivated enough for the game anyway, but getting another win over his compatriot adds extra fuel to the fire.

"You always want to win," said Sanchez Flores.

"You want to win and get goals, but always it's a good motivation when you play against coaches with a good CV and a history and everything. It's amazing, it's a good motivation, but it's extra motivation, this is not the main motivation.

"To get to the next step, this is what we want at the moment.

"Basically, we are not in the way that we want, or in the situation we want, so we need to take the next step, to feel more comfortable in the league table. Once we do that, we start to think about what is our limit.

"I'm really motivated in general, I don't need extra motivation. It will be very emotional, but all of us starting from the fans, we know that the most important thing now is the team and to support the players because they need confidence."

The head coach wants his side to show the supporters that he and his side are playing with both passion and ambition as they try to turn their fortunes around.

A poor start to the season has seen Watford slip to the bottom of the table, yet to win a match, but Sanchez Flores thinks he can make an impact.

"I would like to have this impact," he said.

"But not in a personal way. I would like to have this impact like a team - a Watford team, to have this kind of empathy with the fans and this kind of feelings and this kind of ambition and passion because these are the things I remember from my first period in Watford.

"Every time we went on the pitch we had this kind of big ambition, big passion, we can transmit to the fans what we want."

Sanchez Flores is in no doubt about how difficult it will be to turn around Watford's fortunes, but he said he will go about it with a style that the Hornets' supporters will be used to.

"I'm really happy and realise the way the club has grown and now what we have to do is worry how we're going to improve because the most important thing is to put the team in the situation they deserve.

"Three years is too much in football, so it's possible I've changed, but as a coach I didn't change too much. I still like the compact teams, good defenders, choosing well where we are going to make the pressure, where we want to regain the ball, to play fast, to go to the box, not to dedicate many many passes, or anything. I want to be straight.

"The defence is good for every single style. Even if you want to play like Manchester City, if you don't play that [the defence] well, it's very difficult.

"This week is very important and it's always important to start with good results. We know the opening is very tough, but every single match is a good opportunity to improve."