Larsson relishes Cole battle | Sunderland News, Fixtures, Results, Transfers on Astini News

The two clubs meet at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon, with the Black Cats keen to kick-start their season after a stuttering start.

Larsson's spectacular equaliser on the opening day at Liverpool has been the highlight of their start to the campaign, but he has told skysports.com that he always enjoys coming up against the some of the best full-backs in the world.

"You always like to test yourself against the best and I play mainly on the right wing, so the likes of Ashley Cole, Gael Clichy, Patrice Evra are the top left-backs in the league, and arguably the world, so they are the toughest to play against," he said.

"It gives you a chance to see if you can really handle it and shows how good a player you actually are.

Challenge

"Getting the better of a player such as Ashley Cole gives you a lot of confidence because it is always a tough battle.

"Every player wants to challenge themselves against the best players in the world and I'm no different.

"The day you don't look forward to these types of games and certain personal battles is the day you think about hanging up your boots."

The Sweden international played alongside Cole during his Arsenal days, after coming through the ranks with the Gunners, but he does not expect any favours from the 30-year-old on Saturday.

"I never had a problem with him, but then I never played with him that much at Arsenal, so we never got the chance to become friends as such," said Larsson.

"When we play against each other we often say 'hello' and 'how are you?', but once the whistle blows we are rivals for 90 minutes."