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Sagna 'racing' to succeed in centre

Bacary Sagna says he is getting used to his new central-defensive role.

The French defender filled in at centre back for the injured Laurent Koscielny against Fulham at the weekend and, after producing an assured display, kept his place for Tuesday's Champions League play-off win against Fenerbahce.

Sagna is happy to qualify for Europe's elite club competition again and believes communication is key when he plays at the heart of defence.

"As long as you communicate with your partner, it makes the job a bit easier"

Bacary Sagna

"It's a good job," he told Arsenal Player when asked about playing at centre half. "It's different from right back. You're racing a bit more.

"You have to be even more focused because at the back you're not allowed to [make] any mistakes. As long as you communicate with your partner, it makes the job a bit easier.

"We wanted to qualify and now we've done it. We played OK tonight. We didn't play our best football but at least we won. We stayed focused until the end and we managed to score goals. It was most important to win to keep our confidence high.

"It's a must for Arsenal Football Club. It's a must for us and the fans to be part of the Champions League. We knew it was a great game to play and tonight we can be happy because we did the job properly and we qualified."

Arsenal host Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon and Sagna is well aware of how important the north London derby is for the Club.

"It's massive because it's a derby and a must win, especially for the fans and for the league," he said. "We know it's already important because they won their first two games and we want to catch up. We have the opportunity to do it and I think we're going to have a great atmosphere as well."