• Premier League

Ramsey: Title is Arsenal target

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Aaron Ramsey is hopeful Arsenal can grow into Premier League title challengers after extending their unbeaten run to five games.

Arsenal ran out 2-1 winners against a resilient Swansea side thanks to second half strikes from Serge Gnabry and Ramsey, and the Wales international midfielder, who has scored nine goals in all competitions this season, believes they are capable of continuing the form which has seen them become league leaders.

"That's our target," Ramsey told Sky Sports 1. "We have a lot of quality. We've had a lot of injuries recently but we've managed to dig in and put a load of wins together and hopefully now we get players back and we're in with a shout.

"Swansea is a difficult place to come but we've passed the ball around really well. We had to dig in and stay solid and try not to concede an early goal. We've done that, we've started to defend as a unit and the goals have come in the second half.

"We knew it was going to be a tough last 20 minutes but we managed to dig in and get the win. In the first half we tried to press them a bit too high up but in the second half we let them have the ball, we waited for them to come into our half and defended quite deep so we could get them on the counter-attack, we broke with pace and quality and managed to gain a few times."

Ramsey's uncharacteristic run of goals has seen him outscore his previous best in the opening two months of the campaign and he is happy with his newfound role in the team.

"I felt like throughout my career I've been getting into these positions but I was perhaps a bit rash in front of goal," Ramsey said. "I'm a lot more composed now, I'm feeling confident and things are starting to click into place quite nicely."

After surprise defeats for Manchester United and Manchester City earlier in the afternoon and Tottenham's draw against Chelsea, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was able to celebrate 17 years in charge of the club at the top of the Premier League table.

Although he played down the club's chances of staying top for the rest of the season he commended the spirit they have shown to become challengers.

"It is early in the season but we had an opportunity today," Wenger said. "The sign of quality in a team is that when you have an opportunity you take it. Today we took it.

"Our spirit has been tested after the first home game of the season but the way we have responded is very positive. In this job it is very important that you keep focused and you have a purpose and desire to improve. Let's focus on that.

"There is nothing better than winning. The first half was quite difficult, we were slow in our combinations and Swansea were sharper than us. It was a question of being patient without making mistakes. After we were much stronger and playing at our level.

"We took advantage of the chances we have created. We have substance in the team and we could see that today in the second half. We came out with purpose in our game and that was important."

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