Wojciech Szczesny hails settled Arsenal defence

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has hailed the results that a settled defence has helped bring to the club.

The Polish shot-stopper believes that having a consistent back five has been a big factor in the Gunners maintaining their title push in the Premier League.

Speaking to the club's official website, Szczesny said: "We've been together for much longer and we understand each other's game now.

"Over the last couple of seasons we had less luck with injuries - I never played with the same back four for more than two or three games [in a row].

"Now we play with the same back four, sometimes we rotate the full-backs but in general we stay with the same defence."

Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday to record their 18th clean sheet of the campaign.