• Premier League

Giroud reveals formula for Arsenal's success at City

Olivier Giroud believes Arsenal have finally found the formula to beat the big teams away - by abandoning their usual game plan.

The striker scored a second-half header to add to Santi Cazorla's early penalty as Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners at Manchester City, bringing an end to the champions' 12-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

Olivier Giroud doubled Arsenal's lead at Manchester City © Getty Images

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It was a result, and performance, in marked contrast to Arsenal's displays at last season's top three, when they shipped 17 goals in heavy defeats to City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

"We learnt from our mistakes because we played too much of our own game before," said Giroud. "We always play well against the big four but we haven't managed to win, so it's great for us and I think it will be a game to remember.

"We played well this time because we waited for them and we played well on the counter-attack. After we scored, tried to keep a clean sheet and we could have scored more goals.

"Defensively we were really compact and we didn't let them play through the lines. We knew that they liked to play behind our midfielders with David Silva and Sergio Aguero, so we were aware of that and always created chances up front.

"We know we need the momentum to come back into the top four and we are in a good run. We have kept three clean sheets so we need to keep this up. We always create chances to score and hopefully we can continue to do this for the rest of the season."

The win took Arsenal up to fifth, back above north London rivals Tottenham and just a point behind Manchester United.

And Per Mertesacker, who captained the side at the Emirates Stadium, also believes Arsenal proved they have learned from their mistakes from last season by adjusting their tactics.

"We stayed calm over the whole 90 minutes and just dropped a bit deeper. We didn't rush ourselves to do anything," said Mertesacker. "It's very unusual for us, but we learned, especially from last season. I would say it was a mature performance.

"We don't have to talk too much. It was just one game, but it was a good response. Every player was up for proper defending from front to back. I think we have to praise the whole unit."

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