Skipper Vermaelen may as well pack his bags at Arsenal
Posted Monday, April 22, 2013 by The Sun
THOMAS VERMAELEN is the captain of Arsenal but he should be under no illusions — the Belgian may as well take his coat and head into the sunset.
Previous skippers of Arsenal include Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.
But Vermaelen has more in common with William Gallas. This is a captaincy which will end in tears.
Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny once again proved they are the club’s key partnership in central defence.
Both players have had their critics at the Emirates — and with a fair amount of justification.
But these men are key to Arsene Wenger’s hopes of reaching the top four.
Arsenal will finish another season without a trophy but they are still among the best four teams in the country. They still need to sign another central defender, a keeper and — if Bacary Sagna leaves, as expected — a right-back to compete with Carl Jenkinson.
Yet Mertesacker and Koscielny is a partnership which, finally, appears to be as good as any other in this division.
With Mertesacker suspended, Vermaelen partnered Koscielny against Norwich and they conceded a goal.
But the KosMer combo returned to keep clean sheets against both Everton and here by the River Thames.
Although not at their best and helped by Steve Sidwell’s early dismissal for a nasty tackle on Mikel Arteta, Arsenal took another key step towards a Champions League spot courtesy of Mertesacker’s 43rd-minute goal.
Koscielny also played a part in the goal, nodding Theo Walcott’s free-kick across the box for the German to head in.
But, asked about the pair keeping Vermaelen out of the team, he said: “We are a squad — the manager chooses the team.
“We need the results and to get the best performances to make sure we are in the top four next season.
“Now it is me and Per. We must do whatever is right for the team.
“Per is a very good player. He reads the ball well. He is clever.
“He attacks the ball and wins headers, whereas I can go behind and be quick and cope with the long balls. He is good technically so he is good for the defence. Per is calm on the pitch.
“He is good for me and he uses his experience and this helps me. And he helps the team.
“We play well together as a pair. We communicate well on the pitch. His experience is vital and it helps us work together.
“We try to talk to each other a lot and it is important at the back to have an understanding.”
As for this unconvincing win, in which Olivier Giroud was red-carded at the end for a challenge on Stanislav Manolev, Koscielny said: “We needed to score more goals — especially when we are playing against 10 men.
“We had enough possession but we were not dangerous enough from within 20 metres.
“It was very difficult but we are happy with the three points. The sending-off was bad for Giroud.
“He will not play against Manchester United next week so it is normal that he is upset.
“He is a good man and he wants to score more goals for the team.
“He wants to work hard so he is disappointed not to be playing. But he will come back stronger.
“I thought he jumped out of the tackle. I thought it was a bit less of a red card than the sending-off for Fulham. But we have to accept the decision of the referee. Last season we responded stronger, had a good run and came back strongly at the end of the season, so hopefully we can do the same again.”
He added: “It will be a hard game against United for the whole team but we are at home and we’ll try to get the three points.
“It will be a good game against a big team and I think they have won the title.”
As for Vermaelen, boss Arsene Wenger said: “Thomas is one of the best defenders in England, like the two others.
“I told them at the start of the season that we have three outstanding central defenders.
“It’s about game by game that I make a decision — and it is about partnership as well.
“Thomas has been a substitute for quite a few games and he still plays a big part in the game — I don’t see him as a substitute at all.
“Koscielny was in that position for a long, long time and that can change very quickly.”
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