We took the handbrake off

Sunday, July 26th 2015

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain says Arsenal “took the handbrake off” and returned to their free-flowing best against Lyon in the Emirates Cup.

The England midfielder scored as the Gunners sailed into a comfortable four-goal lead before half-time in their tournament opener.

Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla struck after the break to complete the rout, and Oxlade-Chamberlain is confident that Arsenal can continue to build momentum ahead of next weekend’s Community Shield tie against Chelsea.

“Six nil is a great result for us and it’s a good show for the fans,” he said. “Our first game back at the Emirates is always a big one and it’s nice to be back out there.

“At the start it took us a little while to get going. Lyon are a good side and they pass the ball well but it seemed like once we got the first goal, we took the handbrake off and really started to go for it. We did what we did best going forward to get two more quick goals and we pushed on from there.

“We were able to go out there and put in a good performance,” he added. “It is an important game for us and the fans, looking forward to the start of the season. The Community Shield is going to be a big one but first and foremost we’ve got Wolfsburg. That’s the next step for us.”

Aaron Ramsey was also on target against Lyon and the Wales midfielder believes that the Gunners’ 100 per cent win rate will give them great belief going into the Premier League season.

“It’s going to be important for us to start the season well,” he said. “We have the players, we have the squad, and hopefully we can keep everybody fit throughout the season to have a great opportunity of winning the Premier League.”