Arsenal midfielder Alex Song was very happy after the Gunners defeated Stoke City and moved closer to the Top Four, on Sunday.

Speaking to Arsenal Player after the game, the Cameroon International explained that the objective of the players was to get all three points with the midfielder describing the game as very hard and one in which striker Robin van Persie made the difference after coming on as a substitute in the 66th minute of the second half.

On the Dutchman, the 24-year old added that he is one of the best players in Europe and is now showing how strong he is after putting behind him all the injury problems that prevented him from performing consistently over the last few years.

And on the captaincy, Song concluded by saying that he was very proud to wear the captain’s armband against the Potters and to show that he can be one of the many leaders in the squad, something that he never thought was possible when he joined the Gunners years ago.

After the 3-1 win, Song said:

[The Stoke win?] Of course when you play a team like this you want to win. You just need to be ready for the fight.

We had a very hard game today and we just want to show everybody that we did well. Robin came on the pitch and made their defence really nervous.

We know he is a great player every time he is on the pitch and he is dangerous. Gervinho did well today but overall the whole team did well today.

[Robin van Persie], for me, is one of the best players – I watch him every day in training. He has been unlucky in the past with injuries but now he is stronger and more focused.

Today we are very happy because he is one of the best players we have played with. I am proud to be in a team with this guy. He came in, scored twice and that is why he is very good for us.

That is very good because it means we are improving game by game. We have to continue that because the Chelsea game is very important for us.

[The first half score?] I think we just need to concentrate a bit more. We know when we have a free-kick [against us] we need to be careful.

But we did well and we scored again. That is why it is very disappointing for us. We came out in the second half and showed a different face but we have to improve and be ready from free-kicks.

But we managed the game very well – Stoke didn’t have too many opportunities to score today. We did well and I’m very, very happy.

[The captaincy?] I am very proud. If somebody had said to me six or seven years ago that I would be captain for Arsenal I would never believe them.

But today I am very happy because I can show to the boss that I am one of the leaders in the team – we have many players who can do the job.