Walcott hails Arsenal's 3-0 victory over Manchester United

Theo Walcott believes Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Manchester United was the best performance he has been involved in – and says it sends out a message to their Premier League rivals.

The Gunners scored three first half goals with a brace from Alexis Sanchez and a goal from Mesut Ozil at the Emirates.

Walcott said the players wanted to put in a strong performance for manager Arsene Wenger and the fans following the shock 3-2 defeat to Olympiakos in the Champions League in mid-week.

And the England forward said the way they started against Louis van Gaal's side was the key.

 "You could sense from kick-off the desire was there," he told Sky Sports.

"That was all for the manager without a doubt. We spoke to each other as players and wanted to do this for the fans.

"It was an unbelievable 25 minutes period, no one could have dealt with us.

"It's the best football I have been involved in. That was the Arsenal of old, everything seemed to click.

"We're always going to score goals, it sends out a message to the Premier League that we're here to be recognised."

Walcott's team-mate Santi Cazorla said winning the midfield battle and being more positive was vital against United.

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The Spaniard said: "It was important for us today, we played together and very well.

"We have to keep up the same level. We know they have got really good players with Schweinsteiger, Carrick, Mata, Rooney.

"We needed to believe after the defeat against Olympiakos, we needed to change the mentality.

"The team was very compact and focused against a big team."

Wenger's side, who are second in the table, next face Watford away on October 17th.