Diaby hails Arteta

Abou Diaby: Frenchman relishing prospect of playing alongside Mikel Arteta

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has hailed Mikel Arteta as "a great player" and is looking forward to playing with him in the upcoming 2012/13 campaign.

The Frenchman missed almost the whole of last season because of a string of injuries, while Arteta had an impressive debut campaign for the Gunners following his move from Everton.

Diaby is back to full fitness now and is confident that the Arsenal midfield will be stronger than they were in the last campaign.

"Mikel is a great player and he showed last season that he is a very important player in our team." Diaby told Arsenal's official website. "I am looking forward to playing next to him.

"I personally prefer to play with three midfielders because I can go forward and I can also defend. I think it is the position that will suit me the best.

"Of course the midfield is different now because we are all different. The most important thing is to bring out singularities into the team to make it better. If we have a mix of all that, it can be a very good thing."

Arsenal will begin their Premier League campaign with a home fixture against Sunderland on Saturday 18th August.