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Kolo Toure Wants Manchester City To Improve Against Arsenal
League Cup clash excites former Gunner.
Nov 3, 2009 5:11:18 AM
Manchester City defender Kolo Toure is looking forward to meeting his former club Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, but insists his team must be better than they were when they faced the Gunners in the Premier League.
City won 4-2 at Eastlands in a controversial encounter earlier in the season, but Toure wants to see a better defensive performance from his side.
"I'm excited about it, but we have to admit that when we played against Arsenal earlier in the season, we played well but it was a game that could have finished 4-4!" he affirmed to City's official website.
"Yes, we scored some goals but we let them have so many chances. We were lucky that we took our chances and they did not.
"I think we need to analyse that game, we may have won it but we could have been better. We could have controlled it a lot more and defended better. That's what we are going to have to do again because it's going to be a really tough game.
"It doesn't matter which team they will play, but it will be hard because of the style they always play with and their team spirit whichever players they pick. There are not too many injuries at Arsenal at the moment either, they have togetherness and that can make a difference. But our team spirit is very good, and if we can get it right against them we'll show what problems we can cause other teams.
"We have great individuals, but we need to keep working for each other. We need to see strikers defending, and defenders getting goals, things like that can make a big difference."
And while City must take heart from their league win over the Gunners, they must not allow complacency to creep in, according to the Ivorian.
He added: "Mentally that win is a big thing for us, but we will still need to be careful. We know we can beat them, but we know they are still capable of fantastic football. We'll have to be focussed, because it won't be easy, but we just have to win and we have a winning spirit here. With that we could make a big difference.
"It's a cup tie, it's all about just one game and we'll give everything."
Zack Wilson, Goal.com UK
For more news on England, visit Goal.com's England section!
City won 4-2 at Eastlands in a controversial encounter earlier in the season, but Toure wants to see a better defensive performance from his side.
"I'm excited about it, but we have to admit that when we played against Arsenal earlier in the season, we played well but it was a game that could have finished 4-4!" he affirmed to City's official website.
"Yes, we scored some goals but we let them have so many chances. We were lucky that we took our chances and they did not.
"I think we need to analyse that game, we may have won it but we could have been better. We could have controlled it a lot more and defended better. That's what we are going to have to do again because it's going to be a really tough game.
"It doesn't matter which team they will play, but it will be hard because of the style they always play with and their team spirit whichever players they pick. There are not too many injuries at Arsenal at the moment either, they have togetherness and that can make a difference. But our team spirit is very good, and if we can get it right against them we'll show what problems we can cause other teams.
"We have great individuals, but we need to keep working for each other. We need to see strikers defending, and defenders getting goals, things like that can make a big difference."
And while City must take heart from their league win over the Gunners, they must not allow complacency to creep in, according to the Ivorian.
He added: "Mentally that win is a big thing for us, but we will still need to be careful. We know we can beat them, but we know they are still capable of fantastic football. We'll have to be focussed, because it won't be easy, but we just have to win and we have a winning spirit here. With that we could make a big difference.
"It's a cup tie, it's all about just one game and we'll give everything."
Zack Wilson, Goal.com UK
For more news on England, visit Goal.com's England section!
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