Roberto Mancini was delighted with the character of his Manchester City players after they defeated Arsenal.
Italian predicts title race will be a long battle
Roberto Mancini was delighted with the character of his Manchester City players after they responded to defeat against Chelsea by returning to the top of the Premier League.
City surrendered their unbeaten domestic run at Stamford Bridge last week, but bounced back with a thrilling victory over Arsenal on Sunday.
The three points moved Mancini's men back above Manchester United, who had won earlier on Sunday at Queens Park Rangers, at the Premier League's summit.
Asked about the significance of three points, City's Italian boss told
Sky Sports: "It was very important after Chelsea - we didn't deserve to lose that game.
"Today was a fantastic game for the supporters. It was open until the end and I think we deserved to win.
Congratulations
"They (Arsenal) are playing very, very well...when you are playing against Arsenal, who have Robin Van Persie, Gervinho and (Theo) Walcott up front, you can concede a goal anytime.
"I think today we showed we wanted to win this game after Chelsea and go on top again - but we know the season is long.
"Maybe we will be in second position at some stage during the year - but if we work hard we can stay top.
"It was a big test for our character and I think we showed we are a strong team...we know we shall fight with United and Tottenham and the other teams who are very strong."
Asked what he said to his players post-match, Mancini added: "Congratulations - but I said that after we scored the first goal we should have had more control of the game.
"We wanted to attack, attack, attack and we left three or four counter-attacks for Arsenal."
