Its a matter of power available versus power required (aka specific excess power). Power required takes into account higher drag of one aircraft in the comparison, because all the drag components affect the amount of power required to perform whatever maneuver you want. So, if both aircraft have equal power required numbers, but one has greater power available, then there's a maneuvering advantage. Similarly, two aircraft could have equal power available, but different power required numbers, and there would be a maneuvering advantage. Sometimes the difference needs to be large to have a conspicuous effect, sometimes a small difference can be decisive--just depends on the aircraft involved. Some simplifications here, but hopefully you get the point.
Now, higher wing area at the same weight can reduce power required, but a larger wing can create more drag, which could increase the power required. The biggest reasons Spits, La-7s, etc. have such great performance is because regardless (to an extent) of how hard you maneuver them, they either keep a decent reserve of excess power, or can quickly create it. To a lesser extent, you can include aircraft like the 109K4 and F4U4.
