Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has urged his teammates to start the busy festive period as they mean to go on with a win against Swansea City.

The two teams meet at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday with the seventh-placed Gunners just one point ahead of the Welsh club in the Premier League table.

"December is here and it's a very important month for us - let's start it as we mean to go on," said Mertesacker.

"We want to get the three points. The league is getting harder every year and every opponent is getting better, so we need to keep concentrating and show exactly what we can do."

Arsenal beat the Swans 1-0 in the same fixture last season, but they slumped to a 3-2 defeat at the Liberty Stadium.

Written by
Jack Prescott