Arsenal can win the Premier League title this season if they can continue playing the type of game they did during Monday night’s 2-1 win over Manchester City, midfielder Mesut Ozil has said.
The win saw the Gunners, who are second in the table and two points behind leaders Leicester City after 17 games, open up a four-point gap with Manuel Pellegrini’s side who are third.
“We believe in ourselves. If you see the games against the big clubs, we won against them so we know our quality, if we play our game we can win the league,” Ozil told reporters after the game.
“We will give our best all the season for the title. We have had a lot of difficult games, we are happy to win against Manchester City and we take the three points.
“I’m happy to help the team. You see on the pitch that my team-mates help me to play my game. I just help them in return so this was another important game for us.
“I tried to give my best and we won the game, so we take the three points and that’s the most important thing.”
Theo Walcott believes Ozil’s red-hot form is making life easier for Arsenal as the Germany international leads the Gunners’ assault on the title.
The World Cup winner set up Walcott and fellow striker Olivier Giroud on Monday to register his 14th and 15th assists of the season and is on course to beat Thierry Henry’s record for the most assists in a single campaign (20), which the Frenchman set 13 years ago.
“The thing about Mesut is that he sees things that most players don’t even see on the pitch. You just have to make that run,” Walcott said.
“We’ve got special players on the pitch who provide special moments in the match, and that makes our jobs so much easier.
“The amount he gives to this team, the threat going forward and also defensively, he puts a shift in and people don’t see that side of the game which has changed in the whole squad.”
Sanchez injury setback
Arsenal could be without forward Alexis Sanchez for the busy Premier League Christmas programme after he aggravated a hamstring injury in training, manager Arsene Wenger said.
Chilean Sanchez, who sustained the initial injury against Norwich City at the end of November, was thought to be in with a chance of returning for Monday’s clash against Manchester City but was not on the bench.
“I think he will be back around the 10th of January. For the Christmas period, don’t count him,” Wenger told reporters, adding that Sanchez had suffered a “very slight” setback in training on Saturday.
Arsenal travel to face Southampton next Saturday before hosting Bournemouth two days later. They then face Newcastle on January 2 before taking on Sunderland in the FA Cup third round.