Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny wary of Dimitar Berbatov threat

Laurent Koscielny admits he is wary of the threat posed by the “dangerous” Dimitar Berbatov ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Fulham on Saturday.

The Bulgarian forward was the star of the show as the Cottagers earned a 3-3 draw at Emirates Stadium back in November, with the forward netting twice that afternoon in a man-of-the-match display.

And defender Koscielny is expecting a tough battle against the former Manchester United forward at Craven Cottage as the Gunners look to keep their bid for a top-four finish on track.

“Every game in England is difficult,” Koscielny told Arsenal Player. “Fulham have a lot of good players [but] we are not in the same situation as in the first game against them. We are better.

“We’ve won a lot of games and we’re more confident. It will be different. It will be a hard fight but we have a chance to finish in the [top four] so we’ll go to Fulham to win.

“[Berbatov] is very technical. He likes small spaces. He has scored a lot of important goals for Manchester United and Fulham.

“He’s a danger every time for the defender. [You have to decide] which player goes with him. Sometimes I go with him, sometimes my midfielder takes Berbatov. It’s just communication on the pitch.”