Per Mertesacker has described Arsenal's 3-0 victory over Manchester United last Sunday as a special performance from his side.

Arsenal headed into the clash against rivals United under a lot of pressure following their shock 3-2 loss against Olympiakos in the midweek Champions League clash.

To the surprise of many, the Gunners put in a fantastic display both in attack as well as at the back to claim a comfortable win, prompting Mertesacker to lavished praise on the performance from his teammates, labelling it as 'special'.

Speaking to Arsenal Player, Mertesacker said: "We always want to give the fans special moments. A special performance was absolutely required after what happened against Olympiacos.

"[We were told to] do what we are best at and to go at full intensity, especially at home. Have no regrets and to focus on our job which is to have good possession in the final third, and play with tempo and speed.

"It worked completely because we gave everything from the start without any hesitation and that is what makes people happy, seeing us play in that way.

"We need to focus on ourselves and manage to do that in the first 20 minutes like we did against Manchester United and defend the way did together as a unit. You could see all the doubts that came after the game against Olympiakos go if we remind ourselves that we are really good.

"We need to have a certain consistency [in the league] otherwise it is going to be difficult. But, if you get wins against the good teams then it will breed confidence for the whole team and we look forward to the next few Premier League games now."