"I am really happy that English people say I play just a bit like him and in the French squad he will be the next captain," he says.
"Patrick is really a complete midfielder and that is what I want to become and I am very excited to be playing against him.
"Patrick is aggressive in a good way - he is not a bad boy."
As for improving his own game to achieve his aims, he says:
"I need to score goals and maybe show more aggression sometimes, but the thing is that gets you red or yellow cards and I have to think about not giving away stupid free kicks."
As for the Arsenal game at Upton Park this season, does he feel if West Ham had won it things would have been different at home?
"Maybe, but nobody knows; August is so far away and this is a new year, which we have made a good start to," he says.
"We want to prove we can win at home for our supporters.
"I was happy about the way we played against Newcastle but disappointed because we conceded with 10 minutes to go."
And his musings on relegation?
"I don't think about it - if we play as we did against Newcastle we can take confidence," he insists.