Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny formed a fruitful partnership with Thomas Vermaelen at the backend of last season. However, this year the French international has seen his chances diminish due to the good performances of Per Mertesacker in the heart of the defense.
Despite falling down the pecking order, Koscielny believes Mertesacker is a very good influence in the Arsenal side. "I think everybody sees he is better this season," Koscielny told the club's official website. "The English league is very difficult, very strong and different players have a smaller time or a longer time to adapt to this football.
"I am happy for Per because he's a nice guy, very important in the dressing room. He's a joker so he's good for the team. I'm happy because he's played well this season and it's good for the team.
"We have a good team with every position, we have very good players. Now I cross my fingers to not be injured, like last year. We have three or four centre backs who can play so it's good for the team. The boss chooses the two centre backs who play.
"For me it's important to have a good relationship with my teammates and when I play with Thomas or Per or Johan (Djourou), I give myself for the squad. If I'm on the bench, I motivate my teammates to do well for the squad and winning the game."
Koscielny might be in line for a starting berth in Arsenal's Premier League game against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, with Vermaelen likely to shift to left-back after Andre Santos struggled to adapt to the pace of the game against both Norwich and Schalke. Arsenal's first-choice left-back Kieran Gibbs is ruled out due to injury.
The central defender knows the importance of picking up all three points against QPR, having already fallen ten points behind Chelsea. "It's a very important game because the other game is Chelsea vs Manchester United," Koscielny said. "One team will lose some points so this game is very important," he said.
"We lost two games -- Norwich and Schalke, so this game is very important for the confidence of the team. We have the quality to come back stronger because we have some players who can (make) the difference.
"We must go (as) a unit on the pitch and (at) the end of the game, I just want to have the three points."
