Flamini - Sanogo deserved that goal

Mathieu Flamini has expressed his delight for Yaya Sanogo after the striker opened his account for the club against Borussia Dortmund.

The France Under-21 international netted four times against Benfica in pre-season but had gone 18 competitive games without scoring following his move from Auxerre in July 2013.

Flamini has been impressed with Sanogo this season, and hopes that his first goal will be the spark for many more.

“For a striker it is always very important to score,” Flamini told Arsenal Player. “He had a great game and even if he hasn’t had the chance to play every match, every time he has been on the pitch he has given 100 per cent.

“I’m very happy for him because he has been working very hard since the beginning of the season and it is great for him.

“The championship is not a sprint, it is a marathon and with so many games we will definitely need everyone and we saw that here.”

Flamini was also pleased with the level of control that the Gunners exerted over their Bundesliga opponents at Emirates Stadium.

“The team was solid defensively and with the quality we have, we will always find a way to score goals,” he said.

“It is very important because we have worked hard since the beginning of the season and we lost some games we were not supposed to, so this was very good for our confidence.”