The Liverpool defender is relishing the prospect of facing his former side, and is keen to show Arsene Wenger why he made a mistake selling him to Manchester City in 2009

Kolo Toure is keen to prove Arsene Wenger wrong when Liverpool meet Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.

The centre-back spent seven years in north London – winning the Premier League once and FA Cup twice – before being sold to Manchester City for £15 million.

Toure has since joined Liverpool and is gunning for the win to leapfrog table-topping Arsenal, but admits he owes Wenger a debt for guiding him during the earlier stages of his career.

“I think it’s going to be a great game for me to play,” Toure told the Liverpool Echo. “I had some great times there and it was a big part of my life.
 
“Without Arsene I wouldn’t be here. He was the one who saw me. He’s a fantastic manager and gave me my chance to play football in this country. But now is not the time to talk about him. He knows I’ve been talking about him all the time.
 
“It’s always special to go back there but at the same time I want to show on Saturday that Arsenal made a mistake by letting me go. I’m going there to fight. I want to show them what I can do and help my team – Liverpool – to win.

“Right now I don’t want to think about any of the good things that Arsene did for me as I’m focused on getting those three points.”

A win on Saturday – coupled with Chelsea failing to beat Newcastle in the earlier kick-off – would see Liverpool move back to the top of the table, and Toure acknowledges the tough task but is confident in his squad’s ability.

“I’ll definitely try to do my best to show them that I’m still a great player,” Toure said. “But I need to perform for my team – that is the most important thing.

“It’s going to be a fantastic game and it’s a good opportunity for us. I can’t wait for it. They have started the season really well but Arsenal have always been a good team.
 
“No matter what players they’ve had there, they’re always good because they have a great manager. He’s really intelligent and knows what he’s doing.
 
“Of course it will be difficult but we are a strong team and we have a great manager as well. They know that we pose a threat to them too and they know it will be a tough game for them.

“We know it’s going to be a really good game of football and we will give everything we’ve got to win it.”

The two strikers have now scored 16 goals between them this season and the defender says their form is key to Liverpool’s Premier League success

Liverpool duo Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge are one of the “best attacking partnerships in Europe, according to Aly Cissokho.

The two strikers scored four between them against West Brom at the weekend, with Suarez netting three, to take their combined tally to 16 this season – more than any other top-flight pairing.

And Cissoko admits the two strikers are key to ending Liverpool’s wait for a first ever Premier League title.
 
“I think they are total forwards,” he told the club’s official website. “They have a good rapport, are technically very good, work hard and are one of the best attacking partnerships in Europe.
 
“Luis got a deserved hat-trick and Sturridge scored that exceptional lobbed goal. It’s clear that they are world-class strikers who are going to score a lot of goals for us and will help keep us up around the top of the league.”

Cissokho is currently enjoying a run in the first team due to Jose Enrique’s absence, and he says the new forward-thinking role is demanding but the freedom afforded to him is benefiting himself and the team.

“It’s a role I like a lot,” he added. “I can get up the field a lot, whilst remaining safe in terms of the three behind me. We have three defenders in line as flat backline, which gives me a lot of freedom.

“I’m very happy to be back playing again after a difficult injury, especially coming as it did at the start of my season.

“I’ve done everything I can to recover as best and as quickly as I can, and I’m glad to get a couple of matches under my belt thanks to the manager.”

The Reds have started the season in fine form and lie level on points in second and the goalkeeper feels the squad is strong enough to keep pace

Simon Mignolet has backed Liverpool to build on their excellent start and mount a Premier League title challenge.

Brendan Rodgers’ side travel to leaders Arsenal on Saturday and will go top with a victory if Chelsea fail to beat Newcastle United in the early kick-off.

Liverpool have not won the title since 1990 and have failed to finish in the top four for three seasons, but Mignolet is confident the depth and quality of the squad is good enough to keep pace with their rivals.

“We’re near the top of the table and so far things have gone well,” the Belgian said, in quotes reported by The Daily Express.

“From my experiences at Sunderland I know that injuries and suspensions can play a big part.

“Here the squad is deeper and we should be able to deal with stuff like that in a better way.”

This weekend’s trip to the Emirates Stadium begins a run of three away matches in four games for Liverpool, with the Merseyside derby against Everton and a visit to Hull City coming after the visit of Fulham.