Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has said that his club should aim to recreate the performance they delivered last weekend against Tottenham when they face German club Koln in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Saturday's game against Spurs was arguably Arsenal's best of the year as they went on to claim a 2-0 win against their North London rivals.

After being on the receiving end of plenty of criticism recently, the performance suggested that there is still hope for the Arsenal side.

Mertesacker, who is expected to start the game against Koln, is hoping that his side can carry on their momentum from their weekend win.

“It was a brilliant example of us bringing it all: fans and players together, a great atmosphere," Mertesacker said at Arsenal's press conference at Cologne/Bonn airport.

“It was lovely to see how we were together, in every single situation: in the stands, on bench, on field, we seemed to be together.

"The intensity was great from the start. It is human that in those occasions, you give 20% more, it is like that. We want to reproduce it.

"They set a good example for us, those players, we saw the game, and the intensity."