Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri believes that today's victory over Manchester United sends "a big statement" to their Premier League rivals.

The Frenchman was on the scoresheet at the Etihad Stadium as his team won 4-1 to go third in the table - a stark contrast to last season's 3-2 defeat when he came in for criticism.

"It's really special to win because we send a big statement to our rivals that Manchester City is going to be a force," BBC Sport quotes the 26-year-old as saying.

"To win a derby, our fans today and tomorrow will be happy. It's a special moment to win it like this.

"Today is a little bit of revenge. Last season everyone was sad because Robin [van Persie] scored a late free kick. This time it's different. We showed today in our team we have big players and produced a big performance."

City travel to Aston Villa next Saturday.