Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has hailed central defensive partner Gabriel Paulista for his fine performances whenever he has had to step in this season.

Arsenal may have been inconsistent of late but their defensive displays have been very impressive and the Gunners managed their third clean sheet in four games during the 2-0 victory over Bournemouth on Sunday, with Koscielny and Gabriel playing an integral role.

Now Koscielny has gone on to hail Gabriel and believes that he is forming quite a partnership with the Brazilian who has filled the void whenever Per Mertesacker or the Frenchman are out of the line-up.

Koscielny said: "You know Gabby, he is a very good player. He likes his duels and he can play with the ball and passes.

"He played very well but the whole back four played well because we stayed together. Sometimes in your game you have a difficult situation but we stayed focus on our job."