Yaya Toure said aggression was vital to Manchester City’s thrilling victory over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal went ahead early through Theo Walcott, but City hit back through second-half goals from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling to take the points.

Midfielder Toure said: “We became more and more aggressive and we dominated in the second half. The tactics and desire was there after the break. Arsenal are very dangerous on the counter. The defence did very well today. We have a fantastic striker like Raheem.”

Sterling, who was a constant threat to the visitors and delivered a precision finish to seal the points, echoed his team-mate’s view.

Sterling reflected: “We dug in there, stayed in the game and we got the win in the end. It was very good to get on the scoresheet today. The most important thing was to get the win. I should have put a header away in the first half.”