Arsenal had to respond to Leicester win – Ramsey

Aaron Ramsey says Arsenal’s 2-0 win at AFC Bournemouth was badly needed in order to respond to Premier League leaders Leicester City’s excellent victory at Manchester City on Saturday.

Leicester put Manuel Pellegrini’s men to the sword with a 3-1 win in a top-of-the-table contest at the Etihad Stadium.

That result meant Arsenal – who had failed to win their previous four league matches – were eight points adrift of the summit heading into their clash at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, but first-half goals from Mesut Ozil and Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain trimmed the gap back to five.

Arsenal subsequently jumped above City into third place, and midfielder Ramsey is now focusing on next weekend’s mouth-watering contest against Leicester at Emirates Stadium. 

“We needed it badly. We realised what Leicester did on Saturday and we needed to close that gap so it was important to get back to winning ways,” he told Sky Sports. 

“We put in a shift and the game was won in the first half really. There was no room for error and the boys responded really well.

“We have a big game against Leicester next week so I am sure that will be one that everyone will be interested in seeing, but hopefully we can keep this winning run that we are on now.”

Team-mate Mathieu Flamini echoed Ramsey’s sentiments, saying: “Of course it was important to get back with a victory. We played well in the first half and defended our two goals in the second half.

“It was a good team effort and I am very happy for the team and for the fans. It was a deserved three points.”

On the Leicester contest, Flamini added: “Of course it is going to be a big game. But first what we are going to do now is recover because it was a tough game. It is a tough game next week, very important for us and we have to win it.”