Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has praised the team's defensive performance during Sunday's 2-0 win over Manchester City.

The Gunners left the Etihad Stadium with three points yesterday afternoon as goals from Santi Cazorla and Giroud made the difference.

However, the Frenchman believes that it was at the back where the visitors excelled, keeping the likes of David Silva and Sergio Aguero at bay for long spells of the match.

"We played well this time because we waited for them and we played well on the counter-attack. Afterwards we scored, tried to keep a clean sheet and we could have scored more goals," he told the club's official website.

"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."

Arsenal continue their FA Cup campaign this Sunday when they make the trip to Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round.