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Koscielny - Derby games always special

Laurent Kosicelny says the Arsenal players know they “must” beat Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday for the good of the supporters.

The north London rivals meet at Emirates Stadium in the FA Cup third round for their second clash of the season, with the Gunners having won 1-0 in September.

Koscielny is looking forward to a special occasion, and stressed the importance of gaining a positive result.

"Every derby is very important for the fans, it is the game that you must win"

Laurent Koscielny

“Against Tottenham we know it will be a difficult game, but an exciting game,” he told Arsenal Player. “We want to win it because it is so important to the club and the fans. We will do everything we can together on the pitch to win the game.

“Every derby is very important for the fans, it is the game that you must win. The atmosphere is different before, during and after the game and we want our fans to be smiling, so we want to win!”

Koscielny could come up against former Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor on Saturday, and he admits it will be a tough challenge.

“He is complete - he is good in the air, he is quick and has good technique,” he said. “He is a difficult striker [to mark] - strikers need confidence and he is scoring goals. He has come back stronger and you can see that.”

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