Djourou: I don't fear him

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Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
16 Feb	7:45 PM	CL	Barcelona (H)	2	1	Win

Defender Johan Djourou has stated that he's not afraid of facing the world's best player in Lionel Messi.

The Swiss international has been a revelation for the side this season, with Arsenal remaining unbeaten this year, and many feel that this could be down to Djourou's presence in the team.

The Argentinian forward, who didn't have a brilliant World Cup, has scored 35 goals from 28 games, and scored four goals against Arsenal in last year's fixture at the Nou Camp.

And crucially, Djourou did not play in either of the fixtures against the Spanish giants last season. In fact, he spent the entire season recovering from injury, something which Arsenal fans have gotten quite frustrated about.

Whilst I'm not saying that he will be our Messiah, it's comforting that we have a reliable central defender in the team.

And Djourou says that he does not want to focus on Messi, Barcelona are a team full of quality in all areas of the pitch.

Djourou said: "Barcelona are a great team but it is not just about Messi.

"He has great, great service from players like Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta so we have to be focused as a group.

"We have to get behind the back and be together. It is how we can block the space for him to run into.

"You do not get scared [of facing Messi]. If I was scared, I wouldn't be playing tomorrow.

"You have to be excited not scared. It is true Messi is good one versus one but, as cover, we can be hard to beat.

"We know they are a great team going forward and we will have to defend well and be focused for 90 minutes.

"But do not forget we have great players as well. It will be interesting."

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