Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has hailed his in-form centre-half pairing.
The partnership between the 6ft 6in Per Mertesacker and France international Laurent Koscielny has grown in stature and kept club captain Thomas Vermaelen warming the bench.
Wenger hopes it is an understanding which can continue to return positive results from the challenges ahead.
"We have two clean sheets now in two big games and you never do that without a huge contribution of your centre-backs," Wenger said on Arsenal Player.
"It is a mixture of quality, being calm, confidence and not panicking in very heated situations.
"At the moment, they are at their peak in these kind of situations."
