Midfielder Francis Coquelin feels the impressive 3-0 win over Manchester United shows Arsenal were right to believe they are genuine contenders for the Barclays Premier League title.
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“You could see that everybody from the Copa America had a slow start, in other teams and competitions as well”.
“In the second half we chose to be disciplined, control the result, and we did that very well as well, so we had two aspects in our game that are pleasing and were convincing today (Sunday)”.
Aaron Ramsey and Ozil combined on six minutes to allow Sanchez to back-heel the ball past David de Gea, and a minute later the German doubled the Gunners advantage after a surging run from Theo Walcott.
Eriksen rescued a Barclays Premier League point for Spurs after they had twice fallen behind at the Liberty Stadium, the second time when England striker Harry Kane volleyed Jonjo Shelvey’s corner into his own net.
In fact, Louis van Gaal’s side had to wait until just before half-time for their first real opportunity, when Anthony Martial found himself free in the box, but his shot was straight at Petr Cech and easily dealt with by the Arsenal goalkeeper.
“We just gave them a bit too much space and they played well and it came off for them. We have lost, and lost in a way that you can not lose when you are top of the league”, the former Holland manager said. You can not solve that now – a lot of emotion and I am emotional as well. “We have to be more compact against teams like Barcelona, PSG and Arsenal, but with the same aggression”.
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As for what Arsenal need to do to reach the Champions League last 16 after losing their opening two matches, Wenger said the squad required “desire” and “focus”. Wenger described it as “certainly one of Walcott’s best games as a No9″. We looked like we were getting better in our attack and defensively we were more cohesive. It was a strong response against <strong>Manchester Unitedstrong> following our disappointment on Tuesday night. “A lot of people didn’t expect us to win, but we proved a lot of people wrong”, said the Frenchman, who has now become an integral member of the team, protecting the back four. “I hope that the result will give us belief and ambition for fight for it”.
