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Koscielny - Fast starts have been vital

Laurent Koscielny believes Arsenal’s defensive improvements are down to their ability to switch on from the very first whistle.

The Gunners have only conceded six times in their past 11 games, and have not yielded any first-half goals in 14 Premier League matches.

Koscielny is proud of that statistic, and says it is not just the defence who deserve the credit for Arsenal's miserly record at the back.

"When you are ready for the kick-off and are on the front foot, you feel better and better in the game"

Laurent Koscielny

“It is not just the work of the back four because our quality is to have the ball, to stay high and when we lose the ball to transition from offence to defence,” he told Arsenal Player.

“We have done well for two or three months and it is important to keep this. When you watch our game you see that when we win the ball back we are [often] directly in the opponents’ half and we have the players who can make the difference going forward.

“We are better when we start the game well. When you are ready for the kick-off and are on the front foot, you feel better and better in the game.

“We have scored a lot of goals in the first 10 to 15 minutes of games and it is important to keep this going because the team are ready together to go forward together.

“We have scored a lot of goals in the first half and have not conceded goals and it is because we are ready and we go high to press our opponents and quickly win the ball.”

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