Per Mertesacker has claimed that Arsenal’s midweek win over Tottenham helped lift their confidence ahead of the game at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Arsenal blew Leicester away, ending the Foxes unbeaten start to the season by putting five past them thanks to an Alexis Sanchez hattrick and you could see that they were playing with confidence and renewed self-belief.

The result moved Arsenal to within three points of the top of the table and sets up the game against Manchester United next weekend rather nicely.

Speaking to Arsenal player after the game, the BFG, who featured in both games this week, said “We were quite happy after the win in midweek.

“We took some of that confidence with us today and you could see that.

“There is a little room for improvement but I think we should take more confidence into the game on Tuesday in the Champions League [against Olympiacos]. Obviously it is very tight but we want to continue next weekend against Manchester United, too.

“We tried our best and in the second half we had more possession,” he added. “We expected it to be tense before the game and we tried to match them physically and we did that, especially in the second half.

“We struggled defensively but I’d say we got back to our striking force and more than four goals is something very special.

“At times we lacked defensive stability but that is normal at Leicester. It was good for me to get some game time. I still lack a bit of fitness but it was good today. I say we deserved that especially after the second half.”

Before the visit of United, however, the Gunners will look to get their Champions League campaign back on track with a home game against Olympiacos.