Laurent Koscielny: Hard Work Reason behind Defensive Solidity

Laurent Koscielny has revealed that the reason behind Arsenal's defensive solidity is their organisation and desire.

The Gunners secured their 18<sup>th clean sheet of the season against Crystal Palace and their 11<sup>th in the league, an achievement which has kept them top of the table.

They are now two points ahead of Manchester City and Chelsea with 14 games left to go until the end of the season.

Koscielny has been the most improved player in the Arsenal side since coming into the team in 2010 from Lorient.

The defender has established a brilliant partnership with Per Mertesacker in defence, so much so that the Gunners have not lost a single game in over two years where the duo have finished the full 90 minutes in the league.

The Frenchman believes that their title surge will depend on their ability to stop conceding goals. Arsenal have a difficult run of fixtures piled up in the next couple of months, with a trip to Anfield followed by a game against Manchester United at the Emirates as their next two games.

"The team needs all the players on the pitch to do their defensive job. It's very important because if you want to win, it's easier when you concede no goals. I think the defenders hate to concede a goal so we work hard to keep clean sheets and we did well today. We need to continue to work hard like this for the other games," Koscielny told www.arsenal.com.

The Gunners won their last game against Crystal Palace 2-0, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scoring a brace to keep the Gunners top after Chelsea beat City to throw the title race wide open.

"It was physical against Crystal Palace. In the first half we played well but we didn't find a solution. In the second half with Alex [Oxlade-Chamberlain], we scored quickly and after [we got] the second goal. After that you can be calm because after 2-0 we did the job but kept calm," he concluded.