Cedric Soares: Arsenal now fighting for every 50-50 | OneFootball

Cedric Soares says a desire to fight for the ball is behind Arsenal's return to winning form.

The Gunners have turned a corner since Christmas, with Monday's win over Newcastle propelling them into the top of the Premier League table.

And Soares, who was excellent against the Magpies, says a positive spirit amongst his teammates has been the 'key' for Arsenal's turnaround.

"I think we started the game well," he told the club's website. "We were motivated, you could see from the atmosphere between the players that we were fighting for every ball.

"This is the key. When we start a game like this and when everyone is willing to win every duel and go, go, go all the time I think we are much closer to winning than to losing. "We knew it would be a very competitive game, a physical game as well. We did well and we were patient. We had a few chances in the first half but we kept going, we didn't give up and after that the game was more open. We had more opportunities, and we were able to score. We worked strongly as a unit and that was key today."