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Ramsey - This sends out a statement

Aaron Ramsey says Arsenal’s win against Manchester City "sends out a statement" to the rest of the Premier League.

The Gunners beat Manuel Pellegrini’s side 2-1 at Emirates Stadium on Monday, thanks to first-half strikes from Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud.

It means they have now closed the gap on leaders Leicester City to just two points, and Ramsey believes the manner of the performance reinforces their title credentials.

"We wanted to win this game and I think it sends out a statement of what we are all about this year"

Aaron Ramsey

“It was [a big win] and there was a lot riding on that so we needed to win,” he told Arsenal Player. “Leicester had a bit of a gap before Monday but we have closed that so we are delighted. We wanted to win this game and I think it sends out a statement of what we are all about this year.

“It was important for us to score first and then follow it up with the goal on half-time - that was nice so we had that little bit of a cushion. We knew they were a quality team and would have their moments and for periods of the second half they did. They managed to score one, but we held on.

“There were a few tired bodies out there towards the end because we have had a few tough games in a short period of time and that showed in the last 20 minutes. We did well to hold on and get the win.

“It is still really tight, we are still a couple of games away from halfway [through the season] so there’s a lot of football to be played but we have definitely had a good start and hopefully we can continue this over the busy Christmas period.”