Arsenal's tactical switch to playing on the counter-attack was the key to their 2-0 win over Bayern Munich that revived their chances of reaching the knockout stage of Champions League, according to defender Per Mertesacker.
Arsenal went into Tuesday's match against Bundesliga giants Bayern with two defeats from their first two matches of this season's Champions League.
Despite Pep Guardiola's Bayern boasting close to 70 percent of the possession at Emirates Stadium, they rarely got into dangerous positions in the final third.
And late goals by Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil secured Bayern's first defeat since losing to Wolfsburg on penalties in the German Super Cup in early August.
Speaking to kicker, centre-back Mertesacker praised manager Arsene Wenger's tactics, which were similar to when the Gunners beat Manchester United 3-0 despite their opponents having 62 percent of the ball.
"Normally we have more possession than the opponent, but this time we handed the space to Bayern," the Germany international said. "When you attack them too high, they will have their chances.
"That's why we wanted to defend deep and wait for the counters. That plan worked out!"
He added: "We wanted to go without conceding for as long as possible. We knew that we would get our chances."
Germany midfielder Ozil, who sealed the win in injury time, was equally delighted and admitted the Gunners had been under pressure going into the Bayern match.
The former Real Madrid player said: "We were the deserved winners. It was our last chance, we had to win. We are back now."