Arsenal 2 Manchester City 1: 'Mesut Ozil sees things that nobody else does,' lauds Theo Walcott
Ozil made his 14th and 15th assists of the season in the victory
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Your support makes all the difference.Theo Walcott paid tribute to his team-mate Mesut Özil after the German provided his 14th and 15th assists of the league season to inspire Arsenal to a 2-1 victory against Manchester City at the Emirates last night.
Walcott gave the home side the lead in the 33rd minute with a fine strike from the edge of the box, having been played in by Özil.
Olivier Giroud doubled the advantage just before half-time when he beat Joe Hart with a low finish, again set up by the German playmaker.
“He sees things that nobody else does, you just have to make that run,” said Walcott of Özil’s influence. “When you have special players on the pitch it makes our jobs so much easier. Not just offensively, but defensively as well. He put a shift in.”
Yaya Touré pulled a goal back for City with a delightful chip eight minutes from time, and the visitors looked the most likely to score in the final few minutes.
“When you have to hold on for 10 minutes it’s very hard,” added Walcott. “They scored a stunning goal out of nowhere. It was a special moment [but] we got the three points and that’s all that matters.”
City have not won an away game in the league since 12 September, but Touré thought his side deserved more from the match. “In the end we were unlucky,” the captain said. “We had a couple of chances and it is disappointing. Arsenal counter-attacked very quick, it is tough to take.
“We played very well, it’s not easy to control the game at Arsenal. They took their chances, Theo Walcott scored a great goal but the league is not finished yet.
“We showed a couple of years ago that we can win the league from behind. We will get all the players fit and get back to business.”
City defender Bacary Sagna added: “We have to keep our heads up and work hard. It is not a blow, we will keep fighting to the end and have many games to close the gap.”
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