Auxerre`s Khalilou Fadiga says it is vital that his team beat Arsenal in their Champions League Group A clash in France on Wednesday.
Auxerre have one point and are third in the group behind leaders Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, who beat the French team in last week.
But Senegal international Fadiga will be aiming to repeat the kind of upset he helped his country achieve at the World Cup where they beat France in the opening-match.
Arsenal`s Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord and Patrick Vieira were in the French team on that occasion and will be part of Arsenal`s in-form side.
Fadiga is familiar with Vieira, who rang the Auxerre player before the French team`s 4-1 win against Nantes last Saturday but there will be little room for sentiment on Wednesday.
"Perhaps [it is not the best time to play Arsenal]," he told French newspaper L`Equipe.
"But it`s also
theworst moment to come up against us.
"It will be hard but we`re starting to learn from our experiences. We`re improving in terms of keeping the ball and upping the pace at certain stages of the game.
"We must win, it`s an absolute must that we win this match."
Arsenal and Liverpool were two Premiership clubs who were linked to a possible move for Fadiga during the summer.
A transfer failed to materialise for the 27-year-old who saw international team-mates El Hadji Diouf and Salif Diao move to Liverpool while Aliou Cisse switched to Birmingham.
But, despite being content with life at Auxerre, it seems Fadiga has not given up hope of a move.
"I`m at Auxerre," he added: "I`m enjoying my time with this team and I love the guys here.
"But I haven`t given up hope of playing for a big club. I`ve got the skill, right mentality and desire."
