Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that he was happy with his side's performance against Reading on Monday.

The Gunners defeated the Royals 5-2 at the Madejski Stadium in the Premier League to bounce back from their defeat to League Two club Bradford City in the League Cup last week.

"We had a lot to prove," Vermaelen told Arsenal's official website. "A lot of people questioned us and maybe that's normal but we wanted to perform and we think we did that.

"If you play for a team like Arsenal, there are always going to be people outside who are going to question the manager and the team.

"The thing is, you have to stay united and work hard on the training pitch because we are the only ones who know what's going on in the team. What people say outside is just part of the job."

The win lifted Arsenal to fifth in the league table.